The word "语焉不详" is formed from four characters: "语" meaning "speech" or "to speak", "焉" functioning as a classical Chinese pronoun for "it" or "this", "不" meaning "not", and "详" meaning "detailed" or "complete". The phrase combines "语焉" (to speak about it) with "不详" (not detailed), resulting in a literal meaning of "to speak about it not in detail", which conveys that something is mentioned but lacks thorough explanation.