📖 Meaning
To isolate a single passage or phrase from an article or conversation, ignoring the content as a whole, and interpret it in a way that departs from the original intent. It refers to quoting someone out of context so that the reference no longer matches what was actually meant.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom stems from the Spring and Autumn period text 《左传·襄公二十八年》(Zuo Zhuan, year 28 of Duke Xiang, c. 545 BC). When 卢蒲癸 cited an ode, he remarked '赋诗断章，余取所求焉' — 'when reciting a poem one may take a single stanza at will; I take only what I am seeking.' In the diplomatic speech of that era, quoting verses selectively to suit one's own argument was a customary practice. Over time this practice of lifting lines out of context gave rise to the idiom, whose standard written form is 断章取义.
💡 Example Usage
读文章不能断章取意，以免误解作者本意。
When reading an article, one should not take a passage out of context, lest the author's true intent be misunderstood.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 断章取意
- Pinyin: duàn zhāng qǔ yì
- Literal Translation: cut off, section, take, meaning
- Category: Communication
- Characters: 4