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邯鄲學步

简邯郸学步 · 繁邯鄲學步

Mandarin · pinyin Hán dān xué bù

to copy the way they walk in Handan (idiom)
slavishly copying others, one risks becoming a caricature

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Characters in this entry

邯: hán · city in Hebei province
鄲: Look up this written character
學: xué · learning, knowledge; school
步: bù · step, pace; walk, stroll
郸: dān · county in Hebei province
学: xué · learning, knowledge; school

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1–2–4 · Han2 dan1 xue2 bu4

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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.

邯鄲學步 · find source passages ↗ · 邯郸学步 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

hon4 daan1 hok6 bou6

Cantonese word readings for 邯鄲學步. 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 badly imitate others, and lose one's individuality in the process

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

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