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夸大其词 (kuā dà qí cí) — to exaggerate; to overstate (one's words)

Definition

A chengyu meaning to exaggerate or overstate — focuses on inflating words rather than the act itself. Pairs with verbs like 说 or 描述, and often takes an object (the thing being exaggerated).

idiom
to exaggerateto overstate (one's words)

Examples

  • 夸大其词，。
    Nǐ bú yào kuā dà qí cí, shì shí bú shì zhè yàng de.
    Don't exaggerate; the facts are not like this.
  • 夸大其词，。
    Tā shuō huà zǒng shì kuā dà qí cí, méi rén xiāng xìn tā le.
    He always exaggerates when he speaks; no one believes him anymore.
  • 夸大其词。
    Zhè piān bào dào kuā dà qí cí le wèn tí de yán zhòng xìng.
    This report exaggerated the seriousness of the problem.

Origin

Characters in this word

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
大大dàman
Sound part声符shēngfú
于
于yú夸kuā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

夸 is built from 大, a standing man, above 于, which gives the sound.

Open 夸 →

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 →

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

The modern form 其 comes from an early drawing of a basket, with a stand added underneath.

Open 其 →

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 詞; 词 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
司
司sī詞cí(r)
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 詞 uses 言, meaning speech, and 司 to show how it was pronounced; the simplified 词 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 词 →
Appears in
Communication & SpeechIdioms & Set Phrases

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