imitate blindly; make a fool of oneself by imitation
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesverb
to imitate blindly (often resulting in making a fool of oneself); to mimic without understanding the essence
literaryDerived from the idiom 东施效颦 (Dong Shi imitates Xi's frown), referring to the story where an ugly woman tried to copy a beauty's frown but only made herself look worse. Used to criticize mechanical copying without considering one's own circumstances.
Nǐ你
ruò若
máng盲
mù目
xiào效
pín颦
，
zhǐ只
huì会
nòng弄
qiǎo巧
chéng成
zhuō拙
。
If you imitate blindly, you will only outsmart yourself.
Xué学
xí习
wài外
guó国
jīng经
yàn验
bù不
néng能
jiǎn简
dān单
xiào效
pín颦
，
yào要
jié结
hé合
běn本
guó国
shí实
jì际
。
When learning from foreign experience, one cannot simply copy mechanically; it must be combined with local conditions.
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Dōng东
shī施
xiào效
pín颦
de的
diǎn典
gù故
zhōng中
，
Xī西
shī施
yīn因
bìng病
ér而
pín颦
，
Dōng东
shī施
máng盲
mù目
xiào效
pín颦
，
fǎn反
zēng增
qí其
chǒu丑
。
In the allusion of Dong Shi imitating the frown, Xi Shi frowned due to illness, while Dong Shi blindly imitated her, only increasing her own ugliness.