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入乡随俗 (rù xiāng suí sú) — (idiom) When in Rome, do as the Romans do; follow local customs

Definition

Literally 'enter a village, follow its customs' — a chengyu meaning to adapt to local ways wherever you go.

idiom
When in Romedo as the Romans dofollow local customs

Examples

  • ，入乡随俗，。
    Dào le guó wài, wǒ men yào rù xiāng suí sú, zūn zhòng dāng dì de fēng sú xí guàn.
    When abroad, we should follow local customs and respect the local traditions.
  • ，入乡随俗，。
    Jì rán nǐ jué dìng zài zhè lǐ shēng huó, zuì hǎo rù xiāng suí sú, màn màn shì yìng zhè lǐ de shēng huó jié zòu.
    Since you've decided to live here, you'd better do as the Romans do and gradually adapt to the pace of life here.
  • ，入乡随俗，。
    Qù yí gè xīn de dì fāng gōng zuò, yào dǒng de rù xiāng suí sú, zhè yàng cái néng hěn kuài róng rù tuán duì.
    When going to a new place for work, you need to understand the principle of adapting to local customs—only then can you quickly integrate into the team.

Origin

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

入 is drawn as an arrowhead, indicating 'to enter'.

Open 入 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 鄉; 乡 is its simplified writing.

  • 𠨍𠨍𠨍two people facing each other
  • 皀皀jía round-mouthed food vessel

The traditional form 鄉 combines two people facing each other with a round-mouthed food vessel, depicting a feast. The village meaning is connected to this feasting event.

Open 乡 →

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 隨; 随 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalking
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡐦
𡐦𡐦隨suí
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 隨 pairs 辵 (walking) with 𡐦 (the sound part); the simplified 随 is a later shorthand.

Open 随 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
谷
谷gǔ俗sú
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

俗 is built from 亻, a person, and 谷, which gives the sound; it refers to customs of people.

Open 俗 →
Appears in
Chinese Culture & CustomsIdioms & Set Phrases

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