noun
wording; words and phrases; expression
Refers to the specific choice of words and phrases in a text, often with attention to literal or surface-level meaning. The gloss 'token' is a technical computing term for a lexical unit; include it only when the context is clearly computational linguistics or programming.
契約書の字句を慎重に確認する。
Carefully check the wording of the contract.
字句通りに解釈すると、この条文は曖昧だ。
Interpreted literally, this clause is ambiguous.
Compound of 字 (character, letter) and 句 (phrase, clause), literally 'characters and phrases', referring to the surface-level wording of a text.