慕名而来 (mù míng ér lái) — to come because of someone's fame or reputation

Definition

Idiom: 'to come because of someone's or something's reputation' — the traveler is drawn by fame, not by chance. Often used in writing and news to describe tourists, visitors, or fans seeking a well-known place or person.

idiom
to come because of someone's fame or reputation

Examples

  • 慕名而来。
    Hěn duō yóu kè dōu mù míng ér lái cān guān zhè ge gǔ chéng.
    Many tourists come here because of its fame to visit this ancient city.
  • 慕名而来，。
    Tā mù míng ér lái, xiǎng jiàn jiàn zhè wèi zhù míng de zuò jiā.
    He came attracted by the fame, wanting to meet this famous writer.
  • ，慕名而来。
    Zhè jiā cān tīng hěn yǒu míng, wǒ men shì mù míng ér lái lái de.
    This restaurant is very famous; we came because of its reputation.

Origin

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
㣺Written in full as心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
莫
莫mò慕mù
Same sound today

慕 combines 莫 for the sound with the lower 㣺, a form of 心 (heart).

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

名 puts 夕 (crescent moon) above 口 (mouth), showing a name spoken in the dark.

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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.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 來; 来 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 來 shows a wheat plant: a central ear, upward leaves, and downward stem and roots. The simplified 来 is a later shorthand.

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