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光明正大 (guāng míng zhèng dà) — open and aboveboard; just and honorable; fair and square

Definition

A formal idiom meaning 'open and aboveboard' — describes actions done honestly and in full view, with nothing to hide. Often contrasted with the implied opposite 偷偷摸摸 (sneaky, underhanded).

idiom
open and aboveboardjust and honorablefair and square

Examples

  • 光明正大，。
    Tā zuò shì yí xiàng guāng míng zhèng dà, cóng bù tōu tōu mō mō.
    He always acts aboveboard and never does anything sneaky.
  • 光明正大，。
    Wǒ men guāng míng zhèng dà dì jìng zhēng, bú pà bié rén zhī dào.
    We compete openly and fairly, not afraid of others knowing.
  • 光明正大。
    Zhè chǎng bǐ sài de shèng fù bì xū guāng míng zhèng dà.
    The outcome of this match must be fair and square.

Origin

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 火火huǒfire
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

The shape 光 places 火 (fire) above 卩 (a kneeling person), showing fire over the head and the shining of light.

Open 光 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

明 combines 日 (sun) and 月 (moon), showing the sun just rising while the moon has not yet set, or two bright objects in the sky, to express brightness.

Open 明 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
止止zhǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng正zhèng
Same sound today

正 pairs 止 with 丁; 止 marks the sense and 丁 gives the sound.

Open 正 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →
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Idioms & Set Phrases

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