名正言顺 — “To be legitimate in name and reasonable in words”

名正言顺 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be legitimate in name and reasonable in words”. Justifiable and logical; with a proper title and a good reason. Literally, “name proper, words logical”.

Frequency

名正言顺 Pronunciation and Pinyin

名正言顺 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
名	míng	6	name, reputation, famous
正	zhèng	5	correct, straight, positive
言	yán	7	speak, say, words
顺	shùn	9	to go with the flow

Example Sentence with 名正言顺

经过团队成员一致同意，小李担任项目经理是名正言顺的，没有人会质疑他的领导。

After unanimous agreement from the team members, Li's appointment as project manager is legitimate and justifiable, and no one will question his leadership.

Origin and Story of 名正言顺

During the Spring and Autumn period, Zilu asked Confucius, "The Lord of Wei wants to invite you to help him govern. What would you do first?"

Confucius replied, "I would first rectify names (or titles)."

Zilu said, "Teacher, you are too pedantic. What's the point of rectifying names?"

Confucius said, "You are too rash. If names are not rectified, then words will not be proper; if words are not proper, then affairs will not be accomplished; if affairs are not accomplished, then rites and music will not flourish; if rites and music do not flourish, then punishments will not be just; if punishments are not just, then the common people will not know what to do. Therefore, rectifying names is the priority."

Later, the idiom '名正言顺' (míng zhèng yán shùn) came to mean that doing something is justified and logical, implying a sense of righteousness and confidence.