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望文生義

简望文生义 · 繁望文生義

Mandarin · pinyin wàng wén shēng yì

lit. view a text and interpret (idiom); to interpret word by word without understanding the meaning
a far-fetched interpretation

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Characters in this entry

望: wàng · to look at, look forward; to hope, expect
文: wén · literature, culture, writing
生: shēng · life, living, lifetime; birth
義: Look up this written character
义: yì · right conduct, righteousness

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–2–1–4 · wang4 wen2 sheng1 yi4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

望文生義 · find source passages ↗ · 望文生义 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

mong6 man4 sang1 ji6

Cantonese word readings for 望文生義. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to interpret a text with superficial explanations; folk etymology

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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