名不正言不顺 míng bu zhèng yán bu shùn

(of a title, degree etc) illegitimately conferred

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. (of a title, degree etc) illegitimately conferred

Characters

Character Meaning
名 míng HSK 1
name; famous; place (e.g. among winners)
不 bu HSK 1
not; no; (negative prefix)
正 zhèng HSK 2
exactly; just (at that time); right (in that place)
言 yán HSK 4
to say; to talk; speech
不 bu HSK 1
not; no; (negative prefix)
顺 shùn HSK 4
to follow; along; to obey