名不正言不顺

名不正言不顺

Literally means:

if the name is not correct, the speech will not be justified

Actually means:

words are unjustified if the name betrays the nature

It means that if the name or title is not justified, or if the name betrays the nature, the speech will not hold water. From a quote by Confucius, "If the name is not justified, the speech is not heeded; if the speech is not heeded, then nothing will come out of it. "It can be paraphrased into" If the name or title is not correctly worded, the words said will not carry weight or make sense, which in turn makes it impossible to accomplish tasks. The affirmative form of this idiom is 名正言顺, which means justification from the parity of name and nature.

指名分或名义不正当，或名实不符，在道理上就讲不通，站不住脚。出自孔子的话:名不正，则言不顺；言不顺，则事不成。意思是：在名分上或名义上用词不当，讲出来的话就不能有顺当的道理；说话不顺当、不合理，事情就办不成。与此相对的肯定形式是“名正言顺”（名义正当，道理就讲得通）。