歪理 (wāi lǐ) — fallacious reasoning; specious argument

Definition

歪理 is 'fallacious reasoning' — arguments that sound plausible but are actually wrong. It points to the flawed logic itself, not the person (which would be 诡辩).

noun
fallacious reasoningspecious argument

Examples

  • 歪理，。
    Tā shuō de quán shì wāi lǐ, bié xìn.
    Everything he said is fallacious reasoning — don't believe it.
  • 歪理，。
    Zhè zhǒng wāi lǐ tīng qǐ lái hǎo xiàng yǒu dào lǐ, qí shí shì cuò de.
    This kind of specious argument sounds plausible, but it's actually wrong.
  • ，歪理。
    Biàn lùn shí yào yòng shì shí, bú yào yòng wāi lǐ.
    In a debate, use facts, not fallacious reasoning.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

歪wāicrooked
理lǐreason

歪 (crooked) specifies the kind of 理 (reason), giving false reasoning.

Characters in this word

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

歪 is written with 不 (not) above 正 (straight; proper), so the shape shows something that is not straight.

Open 歪 →

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
玉玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
里
里lǐ理lǐ
Same sound today

理 pairs 玉 (jade) with 里, which shows how to say it; the jade part points to the old sense of polishing jade.

Open 理 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.