望文生义 wàng wén shēng yì

to misread by taking words too literally

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. lit. view a text and interpret (idiom); to interpret word by word without understanding the meaning
  2. 2. a far-fetched interpretation

Characters

Character Meaning
望 wàng HSK 2
to hope; to expect; to look towards
文 wén HSK 3
writing; culture; language
生 shēng HSK 1
life; to be born; raw
义 yì HSK 5
meaning; righteousness; justice