大行其道 (dà xíng qí dào) — to be widely adopted; to become prevalent; (often ironic) to be all the rage

Definition

A set phrase used when something (often a trend, idea, or style) spreads widely — frequently carries a negative or ironic tone, implying the trend is questionable. It is an idiom, not a regular verb.

verb
to be widely adoptedto become prevalent(often ironic) to be all the rage

Examples

  • 大行其道。
    Zhì néng shǒu jī rú jīn zài quán shì jiè dà xíng qí dào.
    Smartphones are now widespread around the world.
  • “”大行其道，。
    Zhè zhǒng "yīn móu lùn" zài wǎng shàng dà xíng qí dào, hěn duō rén xìn yǐ wéi zhēn.
    This kind of conspiracy theory is prevalent online, and many people believe it.
  • ，。
    Kuài cān wén huà zài nián qīng rén zhōng dà xíng qí dào, chuán tǒng yǐn shí shòu dào chōng jī.
    Fast-food culture is all the rage among young people, impacting traditional diets.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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

  • 彳彳chì
  • 亍亍chù

The shape of 行 originally showed a street intersection, even on both sides. Later it became uneven, with 彳 on the left and 亍 on the right.

Open 行 →

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

The modern form 其 comes from an early drawing of a basket, with a stand added underneath.

Open 其 →

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
行行xíngstreet
止止zhǐfoot
Sound part声符shēngfú
𩠐
首shǒu道dào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Early 道 showed a street 行, a foot 止, and a part written 首 or 𩠐; the right part of 行 later disappeared.

Open 道 →

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