是非曲直

shìfēi-qūzhí

idiom #47,877

Meanings

HSK 3

这件事的是非曲直，总有一天会大白。

Zhè jiàn shì de shìfēiqūzhí, zǒng yǒu yì tiān huì dàbái.

The truth of this matter will come out one day.

HSK 5

不了解情况，就别评论是非曲直。

Bù liǎojiě qíngkuàng, jiù bié pínglùn shìfēiqūzhí.

Without knowing the situation, don't judge the merits of the case.

HSK 6

法官要分清是非曲直。

Fǎguān yào fēnqīng shìfēiqūzhí.

A judge must distinguish right from wrong.

memory

Four clean binaries: 是 (right) 非 (wrong) 曲 (crooked) 直 (straight). Two pairs of opposites stacked - a ledger of rights and wrongs.

grammar

Functions as a noun phrase: 分清, 辨明, 评论. Doesn't work as an adjective or predicate.

是 shì

非 fēi

曲 qǔ

直 zhí