邯郸学步 (hán dān xué bù) — to imitate others slavishly and lose one's own skill or identity

Definition

A chengyu warning against blindly copying others until you lose your own ability — from the ancient story of a man who forgot how to walk after imitating Handan styles. It criticizes losing one's identity through slavish imitation.

idiom
to imitate others slavishly and lose one's own skill or identity

Examples

  • ，邯郸学步，。
    Tā shì tú mó fǎng chéng gōng rén shì de jīng yàn, jié guǒ hán dān xué bù, lián zì jǐ de fāng fǎ dōu wàng le.
    He tried to imitate the experience of successful people, but ended up slavishly imitating them and even forgot his own methods.
  • 邯郸学步，。
    Xué wài yǔ bù néng hán dān xué bù, yào jié hé zì jǐ de shí jì shuǐ píng lái liàn xí.
    When learning a foreign language, you can't just slavishly imitate others; you need to practice according to your actual level.
  • ，邯郸学步。
    Zhè ge chǎn pǐn wán quán chāo xí guó wài shè jì, jiǎn zhí shì hán dān xué bù.
    This product completely plagiarizes foreign designs — it's a classic case of slavish imitation.

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
阝Written in full as邑yìcity
Sound part声符shēngfú
甘
甘gān邯
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 邯 combines 甘, which gives the sound, with 阝, written fully as 邑, meaning city.

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 鄲; 郸 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阝Written in full as邑yìcity
Sound part声符shēngfú
單
單dān鄲
Same sound today

The traditional form 鄲 pairs 單, which gives the sound, with 阝, a shortened form of 邑 meaning city. The simplified 郸 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not the historical parts.

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 學; 学 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 學 may have used 爻 and 六 for sound, with hands and a child added later; the simplified 学 is a shorthand.

Open 学 →

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

步 uses two 止 (foot) forms, one reversed, to show one foot stepping in front of the other.

Open 步 →

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