字面 (zì miàn) — (attributive) literal, surface-level (of written language, as opposed to figurative)

Definition

Examples

• 这个词的字面意思和它的实际用法不一样。
  Zhè ge cí de zì miàn yì si hé tā de shí jì yòng fǎ bù yí yàng.
  The literal meaning of this word is different from its actual usage.
• 你不能只看字面上的解释，要理解上下文。
  Nǐ bù néng zhī kàn zì miàn shàng de jiě shì, yào lǐ jiě shàng xià wén.
  You cannot just look at the surface-level explanation; you need to understand the context.
• 这句话不能按字面翻译，因为它有比喻意义。
  Zhè jù huà bù néng àn zì miàn fān yì, yīn wèi tā yǒu bǐ yù yì yì.
  This sentence cannot be translated literally because it has figurative meaning.

Origin