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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

Chinese

一本正經

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ pən²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂɤŋ⁵¹ t͡ɕiŋ⁵⁵/
absolutely serious; dead earnest
  • 一本正经
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The phrase refers to the straight warp threads in weaving, symbolizing a person who maintains a steady, upright, and serious demeanor.
The phrase refers to the straight warp threads in weaving, symbolizing a person who maintains a steady, upright, and serious demeanor.

Origin

The phrase is composed of four characters: 一 (one), 本 (root; stem), 正 (straight; upright in proper position; middle), and 經 (warp, a thread running lengthwise in a woven fabric).

The character 正 contains the semantic component 止 (foot) and the phonetic component 丁 (the fourth of the ten heavenly stems). The character 經 incorporates the semantic component 糸 (thin silk) and the phonetic component 巠 (streams running underground).

Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

「一本正經」是由「一」、「本」、「正」、「經」四個漢字組成。其中「一」代表數字一；「本」指根源或主幹；「正」意指正直、處於正確位置或中間，其字形包含表示「腳」的「止」作為意義組成部分，並以「丁」作為聲音組成部分；「經」指織物中縱向延伸的經線，其字形包含表示「細絲」的「糸」作為意義組成部分，並以「巠」作為聲音組成部分。

根據《國語辭典》，此詞用來形容人的態度莊重認真。在實際應用中，它可以描述一個人表現得極其嚴肅、死板，或是帶著撲克臉的表情。

Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

Lineage

  • characterChinese一 “one”
  • characterChinese本 “root; stem”
  • characterChinese正 “straight; upright in proper position; middle”
    • soundChinese丁 “the fourth of the ten heavenly stems”
    • meaningChinese止 “foot”
  • characterChinese經 “warp, a thread running lengthwise in a woven fabric”
    • meaningChinese糸 “thin silk”
    • soundChinese巠 “streams running underground”
Wiktionary etymology text

No etymology text yet. The graph shows what is known from the sources.

Meanings

phrase
  1. absolutely serious; dead earnest
  2. deadpan; with a poker face

國語辭典 definitions

  1. 形容人態度莊重認真。 例：看他說得一本正經的樣子，不像是開玩笑。

© Ministry of Education, Taiwan — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW, shown unaltered.

Sources

  • etymagent (local gemma4:26b) — Generated
  • 教育部《國語辭典簡編本》 (Taiwan MOE) — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW
  • Written form — n/a
  • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0