望其项背

望其項背

wàngqíxiàngbèi

idiom

Meanings

1 to be able to catch up with someone
2 to come close to matching (someone's level)

Characters

nape; back of the neck

Examples

他的成就无人能望其项背。

Tā de chéngjiù wú rén néng wàng qí xiàngbèi.

His achievements are beyond anyone's reach.

这家公司的规模后来者难以望其项背。

Zhè jiā gōngsī de guīmó hòuláizhě nányǐ wàng qí xiàngbèi.

Latecomers can hardly hope to match this company's scale.

Tips

mistakes

The idiom LITERALLY means 'to see his neck and back' — i.e. to be close enough behind to catch up. It is almost always used in negation (难以望其项背, 无人能望其项背) to mean 'can't even come close'. Affirmative use ('我能望其项背') is logically possible but rare and sometimes confuses listeners.

Stroke Order

望 wàng

其 qí

项 xiàng

背 bēi