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名不虚传 (míng bù xū chuán) — to live up to one's reputation; to be as good as one's name suggests

Definition

A four-character idiom meaning someone's or something's reputation is well-deserved. Use it to confirm that reality matches the praise you've heard.

idiom
to live up to one's reputationto be as good as one's name suggests

Examples

  • 名不虚传，。
    Zhè jiā cān tīng de cài guǒ rán míng bù xū chuán, wèi dào fēi cháng hǎo.
    This restaurant's dishes indeed live up to their reputation — they taste excellent.
  • 名不虚传，。
    Tā de huà zuò zhēn shì míng bù xū chuán, měi yì fú dōu ràng rén jīng tàn.
    His paintings truly live up to their reputation; every one of them is breathtaking.
  • 名不虚传，。
    Zhè cì lǚ xíng de fēng jǐng míng bù xū chuán, bǐ zhào piàn hái měi.
    The scenery on this trip lives up to its reputation — even more beautiful than the photos.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

名 puts 夕 (crescent moon) above 口 (mouth), showing a name spoken in the dark.

Open 名 →

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

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 虛; 虚 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
丘丘qiūhill
Sound part声符shēngfú
虍
虍hū虛xū
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 虛 pairs the upper 虍, which gives the sound, with a lower part shaped like 丘, 'hill'; the simplified 虚 is a later shorthand.

Open 虚 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 傳; 传 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
專
專zhuān傳chuán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 傳 puts 人 (man) beside 專, which gives the sound; the simplified 传 is a later shorthand, and its parts are not the historical ones.

Open 传 →
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Idioms & Set Phrases

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