郢書燕說 yǐng shū yān shuō

lit. Ying writes a letter and Yan reads it

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. lit. Ying writes a letter and Yan reads it
  2. 2. fig. to misinterpret the original meaning
  3. 3. to pile up errors
  4. 4. refers to the letter from capital 郢yǐng of 楚chǔ in which the inadvertent words "hold up the candle" are mistaken by the minister of 燕yān as "promote the wise"

Characters

Character Meaning
郢 yǐng
ancient capital of Chu, Ying
書 shū
book; to write; letter
燕 yān
swallow (family Hirundinidae); variant of 燕yàn
說 shuō
to say; to speak; to explain