In conversations, some people like to draw conclusions without listening to the whole conversation, which not only causes trouble to others but also leaves a negative impression on themselves. How do we describe these people’s behavior in Chinese idioms?
斷章取義 (duàn zhāng qǔ yì): to quote out of context
- 斷: to break, to snap, to cut off, to give up or abstain from something, to judge, (usu. used in the negative) absolutely, definitely, decidedly
- 章: chapter, section, clause, movement (of the symphony), seal, badge, regulation, order
- 取: to take, to get, to choose, to fetch
- 義: justice, righteousness, meaning, foster (father etc), adopted, artificial (tooth, limb etc), relationship, friendship
Explanation
To take a passage from someone’s poetry or conversation out of context and use it for one’s own purposes, regardless of its original meaning.
Usage
It is used in the expression “distorting the original meaning”.
Example
- 看這種這些斷章取義的批評真的很浪費時間。
- Kàn zhè zhǒng zhèxiē duànzhāngqǔyì de pīpíng zhēn de hěn làngfèi shíjiān.
- It’s a real waste of time to read this kind of criticism that’s taken out of context.
- 不要把我的話斷章取義地曲解，我根本就不是這個意思。
- Bùyào bǎ wǒ dehuà duànzhāngqǔyì dì qūjiě, wǒ gēnběn jiù bùshì zhège yìsi.
- Don’t take my words out of context, that’s not what I meant at all.
