DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

依葫蘆畫瓢

简依葫芦画瓢 · 繁依葫蘆畫瓢

Mandarin · pinyin yī hú lu huà piáo

lit. to draw a dipper with a gourd as one's model (idiom)
fig. to follow the existing pattern without modification

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Characters in this entry

依: yī · rely on, be set in; consent, obey a wish
葫: hú · bottle-gourd
蘆: Look up this written character
畫: huà · delineate, painting, picture, drawing; draw
瓢: piáo · ladle made from dried gourd
芦: lú · rushes, reeds
画: huà · a painting, picture, drawing; to draw

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–5–4–2 · yi1 hu2 lu5 hua4 piao2

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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.

依葫蘆畫瓢 · find source passages ↗ · 依葫芦画瓢 · find source passages ↗

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