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上梁不正下梁歪

Mandarin · pinyin shàng liáng bù zhèng xià liáng wāi

lit. If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked (idiom); fig. subordinates imitate their superiors' vices

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Characters in this entry

上: shàng · top; superior, highest; go up, send up
梁: liáng · bridge; beam; rafters; surname
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
正: zhèng · right, proper, correct
下: xià · under, underneath, below; down; inferior; bring down
歪: wāi · slant; inclined; askew, awry

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–2–4–4–4–2–1 · shang4 liang2 bu4 zheng4 xia4 liang2 wai1

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Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

soeng5 loeng4 bat1 zing3 haa6 loeng4 waai1

Cantonese word readings for 上梁不正下梁歪. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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