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按圖索驥

简按图索骥 · 繁按圖索驥

Mandarin · pinyin àn tú suǒ jì

lit. looking for a fine horse using only a picture (idiom)
fig. to do things along rigid, conventional lines
to try and find sth with the help of a clue

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Characters in this entry

按: àn · put hand on, press down with hand
圖: Look up this written character
索: suǒ · large rope, cable; rules, laws; to demand, to exact; to search, inquire; isolated
驥: Look up this written character
图: tú · diagram; chart, map, picture
骥: jì · thoroughbred horse; refined and

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–3–4 · an4 tu2 suo3 ji4

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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.

按圖索驥 · find source passages ↗ · 按图索骥 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

on3 tou4 sok3 kei3

Cantonese word readings for 按圖索驥. 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

(figurative, derogatory) to do things along rigid, conventional lines
(figurative) to try and find something with the help of a clue

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack