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千篇一律 (qiān piān yī lǜ) — all exactly the same; stereotyped; formulaic

Definition

Idiom for things that are all the same, following a fixed pattern with no variety. Carries a negative tone: it criticizes the lack of originality, not just similarity.

idiom
all exactly the samestereotypedformulaic

Examples

  • 千篇一律，。
    Zhè xiē zuò wén qiān piān yī lǜ, méi yǒu zì jǐ de guān diǎn.
    These essays are all the same; they have no personal viewpoints.
  • 千篇一律，。
    Shì miàn shàng de shǒu jī shè jì qiān piān yī lǜ, hěn nán ràng rén jì zhù.
    Smartphone designs on the market are all the same, making them hard to remember.
  • 千篇一律，。
    Tā de jiǎng kè fāng shì qiān piān yī lǜ, xué shēng dōu jué de hěn wú liáo.
    His teaching style is monotonous and all the same; students all find it boring.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

千篇many pieces
千qiānthousand篇piānpiece
偏正Modifier + head
一律one rule
一yīone律lǜrule
偏正Modifier + head

千 and 篇 picture many pieces, while 一 and 律 picture one rule, so every piece follows the same pattern.

Characters in this word

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
一一yīone, signifying a number
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén千qiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

千 pairs 人, whose sound was similar, with 一, a number stroke; the extra line was explained as extension, and a thousand is a number reached by extending counting.

Open 千 →

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
竹竹zhú
Sound part声符shēngfú
扁
扁biǎn篇piān
Same sound today

篇 combines 竹 with 扁: 竹 is the part tied to the meaning, and 扁 is the part used for the sound.

Open 篇 →

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

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

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
彳彳chì
Sound part声符shēngfú
聿
聿yù律lǜ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

律 puts 彳 beside 聿: 彳 is the part tied to the meaning, and 聿 is the part tied to the sound.

Open 律 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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