DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

理直氣壯

简理直气壮 · 繁理直氣壯

Mandarin · pinyin lǐ zhí qì zhuàng

in the right and self-confident (idiom); bold and confident with justice on one's side
to have the courage of one's convictions
just and forceful

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

理: lǐ · reason, logic; manage
直: zhí · straight, erect, vertical
氣: qì · air, gas, steam, vapor; spirit
壯: Look up this written character
气: qì · steam, vapor; Kangxi radical 84
壮: zhuàng · big, large; robust; name of tribe

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

3–2–4–4 · li3 zhi2 qi4 zhuang4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

6character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

理直氣壯 · find source passages ↗ · 理直气壮 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

lei5 zik6 hei3 zong3

Cantonese word readings for 理直氣壯. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(idiomatic) with justice on one's side and in an assertive tone

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack