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入鄉隨俗

简入乡随俗 · 繁入鄉隨俗

Mandarin · pinyin rù xiāng suí sú

(idiom) when in Rome, do as the Romans do

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Characters in this entry

入: rù · enter, come in(to), join
鄉: Look up this written character
隨: Look up this written character
俗: sú · social customs; vulgar, unrefined
乡: xiāng · country; rural; village
随: suí · follow, listen to, submit to

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

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Mandarin tones

4–1–2–2 · ru4 xiang1 sui2 su2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

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.

入鄉隨俗 · find source passages ↗ · 入乡随俗 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jap6 hoeng1 ceoi4 zuk6

Cantonese word readings for 入鄉隨俗. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) when in Rome, do as the Romans do

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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