断章取义

斷章取義

duànzhāng-qǔyì

idiom HSK 7-9 #30,041

Meanings

1 to quote out of context
2 to take something out of context
3 to distort the meaning by selective quotation

Characters

to cut; to break off

chapter; section; passage

to take; to select

meaning; righteousness

Examples

HSK 6

媒体断章取义的报道引发了公众的误解。

Méitǐ duànzhāng-qǔyì de bàodào yǐnfā le gōngzhòng de wùjiě.

The media's out-of-context reporting caused public misunderstanding.

HSK 7-9

他断章取义，完全歪曲了我的意思。

Tā duànzhāng-qǔyì, wánquán wāiqū le wǒ de yìsi.

He quoted me out of context and completely distorted my meaning.

Tips

memory

断 (cut) + 章 (section/chapter) + 取 (take) + 义 (meaning) - cut a section and take only the meaning you want. Visualize someone cutting a paragraph from a book to misrepresent the author.

Stroke Order

断 duàn

章 zhāng

取 qǔ

义 yì