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走过场 (zǒu guò chǎng) — to go through the motions, to do something perfunctorily or as a mere formality

Definition

A set phrase meaning to go through the motions — doing something only as an empty formality without real effort. 敷衍 emphasizes half-hearted, sloppy execution; 走过场 stresses that the whole act is a hollow ritual.

phrase
to go through the motions, to do something perfunctorily or as a mere formality

Examples

  • 走过场，。
    Tā měi cì cān jiā huì yì dōu zhǐ shì zǒu guò chǎng, cóng bù tí yì jiàn.
    Every time he attends a meeting, he just goes through the motions and never offers suggestions.
  • 走过场，。
    Zhè cì jiǎn chá bù néng zǒu guò chǎng, yào chá chū zhēn zhèng de wèn tí.
    This inspection cannot be a mere formality; we must find real problems.
  • ，。
    Lǐng dǎo yāo qiú dà jiā bàn shí shì, bú yào zǒu gè guò chǎng jiù suàn le.
    The leader asked everyone to do real work, not just go through the motions and be done with it.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

走zǒugo
过场brief scene
过guòtransitional场chǎngscene
偏正Modifier + head

走 means to go, and 过场 is a brief scene; going through a scene suggests doing something perfunctorily.

Characters in this word

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

The original shape showed a running man, with a foot added later.

Open 走 →

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 過; 过 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
咼
咼wāi過guò
Same sound today

The traditional form 過 pairs 辵 (walk) with 咼 as a sound component; the simplified 过 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 过 →

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 場; 场 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
昜
昜yáng場chǎng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 場 pairs 土 (earth) with 昜 as a sound part; the simplified 场 is a later abbreviation, so its parts do not have that historical role.

Open 场 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract ConceptsIdioms & Set Phrases

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