狂きょう言げん綺き語ご

also: きょうげんきぎょ

きょ

う

げ

ん

き

ご

Meanings

1

noun

make-believe fiction; fabricated story

derogatoryyojijukugo (four-character idiom)

Derogatory term for a story or account that is completely made up, often with a sense of absurdity or deception. A yojijukugo used in literary or critical contexts.

彼かれの説せつ

明めい

は

まるで

狂きょう

言げん

綺き

語ご

だ

。

His explanation is nothing but a made-up story.

その記き事じは狂きょう言げん綺き語ごに過すぎない。

That article is nothing more than fabricated fiction.

Kanji

狂lunatic, insane, crazy
言say, word
綺figured cloth, beautiful
語word, speech, language

Related words

虚きょ構こう
虚構 is a neutral term for fiction or fabrication, while 狂言綺語 is derogatory and emphasizes absurdity or deception.
でたらめ
でたらめ is a common word for nonsense or random talk, whereas 狂言綺語 is a formal, literary yojijukugo with a stronger derogatory nuance.

Built from

狂きょう言げん+綺き語ご

Written forms

狂言綺語
- きょうげんきご
  Standard kanji form for this yojijukugo.
- きょうげんきぎょ
  Alternate reading; less common than きょうげんきご.
きょうげんきぎょ

Etymology

A yojijukugo combining 狂言 (kyōgen, 'wild words' or 'nonsense') and 綺語 (kigo, 'ornate language' or 'flowery words'), originally from Buddhist terminology referring to frivolous speech. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but it has come to mean fabricated or absurd fiction.