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看齐 (kàn qí) — (military command) to dress ranks, to align in a line; (figurative) to keep up with, to emulate

Definition

Used in commands (向右看齐) to line soldiers up shoulder-to-shoulder. Figuratively, it means to measure yourself against a standard or role model and try to match it — stronger than 赶上, more about aligning with a benchmark than catching up.

verb
(military command) to dress ranksto align in a line(figurative) to keep up withto emulate

Examples

  • 看齐！
    Xiàng yòu kàn qí!
    Face right! Dress ranks!
  • 看齐。
    Dà jiā yào xiàng xiān jìn gōng zuò zhě kàn qí.
    Everyone should emulate the advanced workers.
  • 看齐。
    Zhè ge tuán duì yì zhí zài xiàng háng yè biāo zhǔn kàn qí.
    This team has been keeping up with industry standards.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

看kànlook
齐qíeven/aligned

The sense of 看 as look joins with 齐 as even or aligned to mean align oneself by looking.

Characters in this word

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

The shape 看 puts 手 (hand) over 目 (eye), showing a hand placed above the eyes to gaze into the distance.

Open 看 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 齊; 齐 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 齊 pictures multiple fruits or thorns neatly arranged; the simplified 齐 is a later shorthand.

Open 齐 →
Appears in
Comparison & DegreeMilitary & Defense

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