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直截了当

zhí jié liǎo dàng

blunt; straight to the point

Character by character

直zhí
straight
截jié
cut
了liǎo
finished
当dàng
proper

Example

他直截了当地拒绝了我。
He turned me down flat.

Tone: neutral.

Usage and origin

了 is liǎo and 当 dàng; often miswritten 直接了当.

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