生搬硬套

shēngbān-yìngtào

idiom #56,101

Meanings

1 to mechanically copy and apply
2 to force a rigid fit
3 to imitate without adapting

Characters

Examples

学习外国经验不能生搬硬套。

Xuéxí wàiguó jīngyàn bùnéng shēngbān-yìngtào.

You can't mechanically copy foreign practices when learning from them.

他只会生搬硬套，缺乏创新。

Tā zhǐ huì shēngbān-yìngtào, quēfá chuàngxīn.

All he does is rigidly copy - he lacks any originality.

写作时生搬硬套名言只会显得生硬。

Xiězuò shí shēngbān-yìngtào míngyán zhǐ huì xiǎnde shēngyìng.

Shoehorning famous quotes into your writing just makes it stiff.

Tips

usage

Strongly negative - criticizes failure to adapt. Common in education, business, and political writing, especially about borrowing foreign models or old templates.

Stroke Order

生 shēng

搬 bān

硬 yìng

套 tào