亦步亦趋 (yì bù yì qū) — to slavishly imitate; to blindly follow suit

Definition

A formal, written chengyu meaning to slavishly copy or follow others step for step, with no independent thought. Always negative in tone — it criticizes blind imitation, not learning from others.

idiom
to slavishly imitateto blindly follow suit

Examples

  • ，亦步亦趋。
    Zài gōng zuò zhōng yào yǒu zhǔ jiàn, bú yào duì lǐng dǎo yì bù yì qū.
    At work you need to have your own ideas; don't blindly imitate your boss.
  • 亦步亦趋，。
    Tā zǒng shì yì bù yì qū dì mó fǎng bié rén de chuān yī fēng gé, méi yǒu zì jǐ de gè xìng.
    He always slavishly imitates other people's dressing styles and has no personality of his own.
  • ，亦步亦趋。
    Xué xí bié rén hǎo de dì fāng shì kě yǐ de, dàn yí wèi yì bù yì qū fǎn ér huì shī qù zì wǒ.
    It's fine to learn from others' strengths, but blindly following them will instead make you lose yourself.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

亦步also step
亦yìalso步bùstep
偏正Modifier + head
亦趋also walk
亦yìalso趋qūwalk
偏正Modifier + head

亦步亦趋 uses 亦步, 'also step', and 亦趋, 'also walk', to show copying.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

亦 originally drew a person with marks at the armpits. It was later borrowed for its sound to write 亦 'also', so the picture is unrelated to that meaning.

Open 亦 →

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 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

亦 originally drew a person with marks at the armpits. It was later borrowed for its sound to write 亦 'also', so the picture is unrelated to that meaning.

Open 亦 →

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 趨; 趋 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
走走zǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
芻
芻chú趨qū
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 趨 pairs 走, a walking/running part, with 芻 as a sound part; the simplified 趋 is a later shorthand.

Open 趋 →

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