名正言顺

名正言順

míngzhèngyánshùn

idiom #30,614

Meanings

1 legitimate and justified
2 in a proper and rightful manner
3 with a valid claim

Characters

correct; proper

smooth; in order

Examples

他们结婚后，就可以名正言顺地住在一起了。

Tāmen jiéhūn hòu, jiù kěyǐ míngzhèngyánshùn de zhù zài yìqǐ le.

After they get married, they can legitimately live together.

你是部门主管，名正言顺地可以做这个决定。

Nǐ shì bùmén zhǔguǎn, míngzhèngyánshùn de kěyǐ zuò zhège juédìng.

You're the department head — you have every right to make this decision.

Tips

history

From Confucius in 《论语·子路》: 「名不正则言不顺，言不顺则事不利」 — 'if names are not correct, speech will not be in order; if speech is not in order, affairs will not succeed.' The original doctrine of 正名 (rectification of names): a ruler must have a legitimate title before his words and actions can carry weight.

usage

Commonly used adverbially with 地 before a verb — 名正言顺地做某事 ('to do something with full legitimacy').

Stroke Order

名 míng

正 zhèng

言 yán

顺 shùn