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因循守舊

简因循守旧 · 繁因循守舊

Mandarin · pinyin yīn xún shǒu jiù

(idiom) to continue in the same old rut
diehard conservative attitudes

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Characters in this entry

因: yīn · cause, reason; by; because (of)
循: xún · obey, comply with, follow
守: shǒu · defend, protect, guard, conserve
舊: Look up this written character
旧: jiù · old, ancient; former, past

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–3–4 · yin1 xun2 shou3 jiu4

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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.

因循守舊 · find source passages ↗ · 因循守旧 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jan1 ceon4 sau2 gau6

Cantonese word readings for 因循守舊. 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) to adhere to old rules or traditions without changing or innovating

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

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