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走過場

简走过场 · 繁走過場

Mandarin · pinyin zǒu guò chǎng

to go through the motions

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Characters in this entry

走: zǒu · walk, go on foot; run; leave; Kangxi radical 156
過: guò · pass, pass through, go across
場: chǎng · open space, field, market
过: guò · pass, pass through, go across
场: chǎng · open space, field, market

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

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Mandarin tones

3–4–3 · zou3 guo4 chang3

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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.

走過場 · find source passages ↗ · 走过场 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(theater, of an actor or actress) to walk from one end of the stage to the other without stopping
(figurative) to go through the motions; to do something as a mere formality

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

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