上梁不正下梁歪

shàngliángbúzhèngxiàliángwāi

idiom #49,613

Meanings

1 if the upper beam is crooked the lower one will be too
2 subordinates copy their leaders' faults
3 rotten leadership breeds rotten followers

Characters

straight, upright

Examples

经理天天迟到，员工也跟着迟到，真是上梁不正下梁歪。

Jīnglǐ tiāntiān chídào, yuángōng yě gēnzhe chídào, zhēnshi shàng liáng bú zhèng xià liáng wāi.

The manager is late every day and the staff follow suit — when the upper beam is crooked, the lower one warps too.

父母不守规矩，孩子怎么会守？上梁不正下梁歪。

Fùmǔ bù shǒu guījǔ, háizi zěnme huì shǒu? Shàng liáng bú zhèng xià liáng wāi.

If the parents don't follow the rules, how would the kids? Crooked upper beam, warped lower beam.

Tips

history

Traced to 晋·杨泉《物理论》 (Yáng Quán's 'Wùlǐ Lùn', Jin dynasty): 上不正，下参差 (shàng bú zhèng, xià cēncī) 'when the top is not straight, the bottom is uneven'. The longer beam-imagery version became proverbial in vernacular Chinese.

memory

Visualize a wooden house frame: if the top crossbeam (上梁 shàngliáng) tilts, the lower beam (下梁 xiàliáng) ends up warped (歪 wāi 'crooked, askew'). Used to scold parents/bosses/leaders whose subordinates have picked up their bad habits.

Stroke Order

上 shàng

梁 liáng

不 bù

正 zhèng

下 xià

歪 wāi