Chinese word

理直气壮

Pronunciation

Pinyinlǐ zhí qì zhuàng

Meaning

  • adverbconfidently

Example

她理直气壮地回答了老师。tā lǐ zhí qì zhuàng dì huí dá le lǎo shī

She confidently answered the teacher.

Illustration for 理直气壮 (confidently)

More examples

面对指责，他理直气壮地反驳了对方。miàn duì zhǐ zé tā lǐ zhí qì zhuàng dì fǎn bó le duì fāng

Faced with criticism, he confidently argued back at the other person.

Core concept

A person speaks from solid ground, with the force and confidence to stand behind a claim.

Common phrases

  • 理直气壮地维护自己的权利lǐ zhí qì zhuàng dì wéi hù zì jǐ de quán lì

    confidently defend one's rights

  • 理直气壮地表达观点lǐ zhí qì zhuàng dì biǎo dá guān diǎn

    confidently express one's views

  • 理直气壮地反驳lǐ zhí qì zhuàng dì fǎn bó

    confidently refute

Similar words

有理有据地yóu lí yǒu jù dì: Speaking persuasively with clear reasons and supporting evidence.
直截了当地zhí jié liǎo dàng dì: Speaking plainly and directly, without going around the main point.
光明正大地guāng míng zhèng dà dì: Acting openly and honorably, with nothing to hide or feel guilty about.
坚定地jiān dìng dì: Acting with firm resolve and an unshaken attitude.

Definition in Chinese

表示在有理可据的情况下，以有力、有气势的方式表达自己的观点或主张，常用作副词修饰动词。biǎo shì zài yóu lǐ kě jù de qíng kuàng xià yǐ yǒu lì yǒu qì shì de fāng shì biǎo dá zì jǐ de guān diǎn huò zhǔ zhāng cháng yòng zuò fù cí xiū shì dòng cí

Word origin

理直气壮 (lǐzhíqìzhuàng, "justified and forceful") joins 理 (lǐ, "reason") + 直 (zhí, "straight") with 气 (qì, "spirit") + 壮 (zhuàng, "strong") to link a sound case with a powerful manner of speaking.

Usage tips

  • In everyday Chinese, it often appears before a speaking verb when a person is defending a position, and it can sound ironic if that person's case is weak.

Other meanings

  • proudlyadverb
  • boldlyadverb

Opposites

  • 卑怯地bēi qiè dìcowardlyadverb
  • 退缩地tuì suō dìtimidlyadverb

Word lists with this word