顶礼膜拜

頂禮膜拜
dǐnglǐ-móbài
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 to prostrate oneself in worship
  2. 2 to worship slavishly; to idolize

Examples

Xìntú men duì fóxiàng dǐnglǐmóbài.
The believers prostrated themselves before the Buddha statue.
Fěnsī men duì zhèwèi míngxīng dǐnglǐmóbài.
Fans worship this celebrity like a god.
Wǒmen bù gāi duì quánwēi dǐnglǐmóbài, ér yīng dúlì sīkǎo.
We shouldn't blindly worship authority; we should think independently.

Tips

history
Recorded in the Qing novel 《》. Both halves come from Buddhist ritual terms: = bowing with the forehead touching the ground, = kneeling with palms raised. Originally literal temple worship; now mostly figurative and often sarcastic.
usage
Modern use is usually disapproving — 'blind idolatry.' Pattern: 顶礼膜拜 ('worship [X] slavishly'). Literal religious use is still possible but less common in everyday speech.

Stroke Order

dǐng
bài