DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

學如逆水行舟，不進則退

简学如逆水行舟，不进则退 · 繁學如逆水行舟，不進則退

Mandarin · pinyin xué rú nì shuǐ xíng zhōu , bù jìn zé tuì

study is like rowing upstream – if you don't keep pushing forward, you fall behind

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

學: xué · learning, knowledge; school
如: rú · if, supposing; as if; like, as
逆: nì · disobey, rebel; rebel, traitor
水: shuǐ · water, liquid, lotion, juice
行: xíng · go; walk; move, travel; circulate; Kangxi radical 144
舟: zhōu · boat, ship; Kangxi radical 137
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
進: jìn · advance, make progress, enter
則: Look up this written character
退: tuì · step back, retreat, withdraw
学: xué · learning, knowledge; school
进: jìn · advance, make progress, enter
则: zé · rule, law, regulation; grades

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

Explore the spelling

Connected dictionary

12character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

學如逆水行舟，不進則退 · find source passages ↗ · 学如逆水行舟，不进则退 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗