杜撰

dùzhuàn

verb #23,332

Meanings

1 to fabricate
2 to make up
3 to invent (a story or claim)
4 unfounded

Characters

surname Du / to block / to make up

to compose / to write / to author

Examples

他杜撰了一个借口来解释迟到。

Tā dùzhuàn le yīgè jièkǒu lái jiěshì chídào.

He made up an excuse to explain his lateness.

这个故事完全是杜撰的，没有任何依据。

Zhège gùshi wánquán shì dùzhuàn de, méiyǒu rènhé yījù.

This story is completely fabricated, with no basis at all.

Tips

history

杜撰 is said to derive from 杜默 (Dù Mò), a Northern Song poet who invented his own unorthodox style of verse. People joked that his compositions (撰) were 'Du-style' fabrications, and the term stuck for anything made up without basis.

Stroke Order

杜 dù

撰 zhuàn