想当然

想當然
xiǎngdāngrán
phrase #20,473

Meanings

  1. 1 to take for granted
  2. 2 to assume without evidence
  3. 3 to jump to conclusions

Examples

Nǐ bùyào xiǎngdāngrán, yào xiān chá qīngchǔ zài shuō.
Don't just assume — check the facts before you speak.
Hěn duō rén xiǎngdāngrán de yǐwéi zhè hěn róngyì, qíshí bùrán.
Many people simply assume this is easy, but it is not.

Tips

usage
想当然 (and the fuller form 想当然) means to assume something is so without checking. It appears most often in negative constructions: 不要想当然 ('don't just assume') or 不能想当然 ('you can't take it for granted'). The 当然 part ironically means 'of course' — so the sense is 'thinking of course it must be so'.

Stroke Order

xiǎng
dāng
rán