顺水推船

順水推船

shùnshuǐ-tuīchuán

idiom

Meanings

HSK 4

他顺水推船地接受了那份工作。

Tā shùnshuǐ-tuīchuán de jiēshòu le nà fèn gōngzuò.

He took advantage of the situation and accepted the job.

HSK 5

既然大家都同意，我就顺水推船批准了这个方案。

Jìrán dàjiā dōu tóngyì, wǒ jiù shùnshuǐ-tuīchuán pīzhǔn le zhège fāng'àn.

Since everyone agreed, I went with the flow and approved the plan.

usage

Used when someone seizes a favorable circumstance rather than fighting against it. Often pragmatic, sometimes mildly opportunistic in tone.

memory

Visualize pushing a boat downstream - the current does most of the work. 顺 (with the flow) + 水 (water) + 推船 (push boat).

顺 shùn

水 shuǐ

推 tuī

船 chuán