TongTong
Sign in

不约而同 (bù yuē ér tóng) — (idiom) to do or think the same thing without prior consultation; coincidentally; spontaneously in unison

Definition

An idiom for when different people independently do or think the same thing at the same time. Unlike 巧, which describes a single lucky or skillful event, 不约而同 highlights several people acting in unison without planning.

idiom
to do or think the same thing without prior consultationcoincidentallyspontaneously in unison

Examples

  • 不约而同。
    Dà jiā bù yuē ér tóng dì xiào le qǐ lái.
    Everyone laughed at the same time without prior arrangement.
  • 不约而同。
    Tā men bù yuē ér tóng xuǎn zé le tóng yí gè zhuān yè.
    They independently chose the same major.
  • 不约而同。
    Wǒ men bù yuē ér tóng xiǎng qǐ le nà jiàn wǎng shì.
    We all thought of that past event at the same time.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 約; 约 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìrope
Sound part声符shēngfú
勺
勺sháo約yuē
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 約 uses 糸, a rope, for its meaning and 勺 for its sound; the simplified 约 is a later shorthand.

Open 约 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 而 is a picture of a beard.

Open 而 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

同 originally drew a pipe. It is the old form of 筒.

Open 同 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.