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独树一帜 (dú shù yī zhì) — to develop one's own distinctive style or school; (idiom) to stake out one's own unique course

Definition

Literally 'fly one flag alone' — describes a person, company, or work that stands out with a style no one else shares. Carries strong praise for originality.

idiom
to develop one's own distinctive style or schoolto stake out one's own unique course

Examples

  • 独树一帜，。
    Tā zài yì shù jiè dú shù yī zhì, kāi chuàng le quán xīn de fēng gé.
    He established a unique style in the art world, creating a completely new genre.
  • 独树一帜，。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī dú shù yī zhì, bú zuò rèn hé tóng háng de rè mén chǎn pǐn.
    This company goes its own way and doesn't produce any of the popular products that its competitors make.
  • 独树一帜，。
    Tā de xiě zuò dú shù yī zhì, dú zhě yì yǎn jiù néng rèn chū tā de wén zì.
    Her writing has a distinctive style — readers can recognize her words at a glance.

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.

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 →

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 樹; 树 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
尌
尌shù樹shù
Same sound today

Originally 尌, 'to plant a tree', was written alone; the traditional form 樹 adds 木, 'tree', to it to differentiate.

Open 树 →

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

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

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 幟; 帜 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
巾巾jīncloth
Sound part声符shēngfú
戠
戠zhí幟zhì
Same sound today

The traditional form 幟 pairs 巾, cloth, with 戠 giving the sound; the modern 帜 is a simplified shape.

Open 帜 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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