照本宣科

zhàoběnxuānkē

idiom #32,966

Meanings

1 to read out the script word for word
2 to recite mechanically from a text
3 to teach or speak rigidly by the book

Characters

according to; following

to proclaim; to read out

section (of a text); article

Examples

老师不能只是照本宣科，要联系实际讲解。

Lǎoshī bù néng zhǐshì zhào běn xuān kē, yào liánxì shíjì jiǎngjiě.

Teachers can't just read from the textbook — they need to connect lessons to reality.

他的演讲完全是照本宣科，毫无感染力。

Tā de yǎnjiǎng wánquán shì zhào běn xuān kē, háo wú gǎnrǎnlì.

His speech was just a recitation from his notes — utterly flat.

培训不该只是照本宣科，应当多互动。

Péixùn bù gāi zhǐshì zhào běn xuān kē, yīngdāng duō hùdòng.

Training shouldn't be a by-the-book recitation; there should be more interaction.

Tips

history

Found in Guan Hanqing's Yuan-dynasty zaju 《西蜀梦》: 'no need for monks chanting spells or Daoists 宣科' — 宣科 originally meant Daoist priests reading liturgical texts aloud. The idiom carries that mechanical-recitation flavor.

register

Always negative — a complaint about teachers, lecturers, officials, or trainers who recite without thinking, engaging, or adapting. Common in education and workplace criticism.

Stroke Order

照 zhào

本 běn

宣 xuān

科 kē