大义凛然 (dà yì lǐn rán) — righteous and awe-inspiring; dignified in upholding justice

Definition

A four-character idiom describing someone who upholds justice with a fearless, dignified air — often used for heroes or martyrs facing threats. The tone is solemn and admiring, more lofty than everyday words like 勇敢.

idiom
righteous and awe-inspiringdignified in upholding justice

Examples

  • 大义凛然，。
    Tā zài fǎ tíng shàng dà yì lǐn rán, háo bú wèi jù.
    He stood in court with righteous dignity, showing no fear.
  • ，大义凛然。
    Miàn duì dí rén de wēi xié, tā dà yì lǐn rán dì jù jué le tóu xiáng.
    Facing the enemy's threats, she refused to surrender with awe-inspiring righteousness.
  • 大义凛然。
    Yīng xióng men dà yì lǐn rán de xíng xiàng yǒng yuǎn liú zài rén mín xīn zhōng.
    The awe-inspiring righteous image of the heroes will forever remain in the people's hearts.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

大义
大dàgreat义yìrighteousness
偏正Modifier + head
凛然
凛lǐnawe-inspiring然ránstate suffix
后缀Suffix

大义 means great righteousness, while 凛然 conveys an awe-inspiring, dignified manner.

Characters in this word

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 →

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 義; 义 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
羊羊yáng
Sound part声符shēngfú
我
我wǒ義yì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 義 has 我 giving the sound and 羊 meaning good or auspicious; the simplified 义 is a later abbreviation.

Open 义 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
肰
肰rán然rán
Same sound today

然 is made from 肰, which gives the sound, and 火, which shows fire, matching the old sense 'to burn'.

Open 然 →

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