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生吞活剥 (shēng tūn huó bāo) — to accept something uncritically; to swallow whole (without understanding or adapting)

Definition

A vivid image: 'swallow raw, skin alive' — means accepting ideas whole without chewing them over, i.e. uncritically. Used for rote learning or copying others' views without thinking.

idiom
to accept something uncriticallyto swallow whole (without understanding or adapting)

Examples

  • 生吞活剥，。
    Xué xí xīn zhī shi bù néng shēng tūn huó bāo, yào shēn rù lǐ jiě.
    When learning new knowledge, you can't just swallow it whole — you need to understand it deeply.
  • 生吞活剥，。
    Tā xiě lùn wén shí shēng tūn huó bāo bié rén de guān diǎn, wán quán méi yǒu zì jǐ de sī kǎo.
    When writing his thesis, he uncritically accepted others' viewpoints without any original thought.
  • 生吞活剥，。
    Zhè zhǒng shēng tūn huó bāo de xué xí fāng fǎ, kǎo shì yí guò jiù quán wàng le.
    This kind of rote, uncritical learning method — once the exam is over, you forget everything.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

生吞swallow raw
生shēngraw吞tūnswallow
偏正Modifier + head
活剥peel alive
活huóalive剥bāopeel
偏正Modifier + head

生吞 means swallowing raw, and 活剥 means peeling alive; the two vivid actions together describe taking something without chewing or understanding.

Characters in this word

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

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Open 生 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 吞 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠯑
𠯑𠯑活huó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

活 is built from 氵 (water) and 𠯑, which shows the sound; 𠯑 later changed into 舌.

Open 活 →

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 剝; 剥 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
刂Written in full as刀dāoknife
Sound part声符shēngfú
彔
彔lù剝bō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 剝 uses 彔 for its sound and 刂, a knife; the simplified 剥 is a later shorthand.

Open 剥 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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