顾名思义
- Literal
- to look at the name and think of its meaning
- Figurative
- As the name suggests: you only have to look at what something is called to understand what it is.
Where does 顾名思义 come from?
Wang Chang, a senior official of the state of Wei during the Three Kingdoms period, picked names for his sons and nephews from the vocabulary of modesty and depth, and put his reason in writing: he had named them that way so that, looking at their names, they would think of what those names meant and not stray from it. The set phrase came out of that family text. It began as moral advice — live up to what your name says — and has since become a neutral discourse marker, used constantly to introduce something whose name already gives it away.
Source (出处): 《三国志》
How is 顾名思义 used? Two examples
- 这种药叫安眠药，顾名思义，是帮助睡眠的。
This medicine is called a sleeping pill; as the name suggests, it's there to help you sleep.
- 这个部门顾名思义就是负责售后的。
This department, as the name tells you, is the one that handles after-sales.
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