生吞活剥

生吞活剝
shēngtūnhuóbō
idiom #20,427

Meanings

  1. 1 to apply mechanically without understanding
  2. 2 to copy blindly
  3. 3 to swallow whole without digesting

Examples

Xuéxí bù néng shēngtūnhuóbō, yào zhēnzhèng lǐjiě cái xíng.
You can't just mechanically copy what you learn — you need to truly understand it.
Tā bǎ wàiguó de lǐlùn shēngtūnhuóbō de tàoyòng, wánquán bù kǎolǜ shíjì qíngkuàng.
He blindly applied foreign theory without considering the actual circumstances at all.

Tips

memory
The literal image is brutal: 'swallow raw' () + 'skin alive' (). Something consumed so crudely it isn't processed at all. Figuratively: copying or applying ideas so mechanically they lose all meaning — nothing is digested.

Stroke Order

shēng
tūn
huó
bāo