独断专行 (dú duàn zhuān xíng) — (idiom) to act arbitrarily; to make decisions without consulting others

Definition

Negative idiom: to decide and act entirely on one's own, ignoring others. Condemns an authoritarian leadership style rather than praising independence.

idiom
to act arbitrarilyto make decisions without consulting others

Examples

  • ，独断专行，。
    Tā zuò wéi lǐng dǎo, cháng cháng dú duàn zhuān xíng, bù tīng xià shǔ de yì jiàn.
    As a leader, he often acts arbitrarily and doesn't listen to his subordinates' opinions.
  • 独断专行。
    Zhè zhǒng dú duàn zhuān xíng de zuò fǎ zuì zhōng dǎo zhì le xiàng mù de shī bài.
    This kind of arbitrary behavior eventually led to the failure of the project.
  • ，独断专行。
    Zài tuán duì hé zuò zhōng, dú duàn zhuān xíng shì bù kě qǔ de.
    In teamwork, acting arbitrarily is not advisable.

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.

独断decide alone
独dúalone断duàndecide
偏正Modifier + head
专行act exclusively
专zhuānexclusively行xíngact
偏正Modifier + head

独断, deciding alone, and 专行, acting exclusively, together mean acting without consulting others.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 獨; 独 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犭Written in full as犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
蜀
蜀shǔ獨dú
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 獨 pairs 犬 (dog) with 蜀, which gives the sound; the simplified 独 is a shorthand.

Open 独 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 斷; 断 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 斷 uses 𢇍 (to cut) and 斤 (axe) together.

Open 断 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 專; 专 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 專 shows 又, a hand, turning 叀, a spindle; this came to mean gathering several things into one.

Open 专 →

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

  • 彳彳chì
  • 亍亍chù

The shape of 行 originally showed a street intersection, even on both sides. Later it became uneven, with 彳 on the left and 亍 on the right.

Open 行 →

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