马首是瞻

馬首是瞻

mǎshǒu-shìzhān

idiom

Meanings

1 to watch only the lead horse's head
2 to follow someone's lead blindly
3 to take one's cue from a single leader

Characters

(object-marker, classical)

look up to / gaze at

Examples

HSK 7-9

全队唯他马首是瞻。

Quánduì wéi tā mǎshǒu-shìzhān.

The whole team follows his lead.

HSK 7-9

大家都以她的决定马首是瞻。

Dàjiā dōu yǐ tā de juédìng mǎshǒu-shìzhān.

Everyone takes their cue from her decisions.

Tips

history

From 《左传·襄公十四年》: the allied army was ordered "at cockcrow, yoke the horses, fill the wells and level the stoves - just look at my horse's head to know which way to go". Originally a battlefield order for unified movement.

grammar

Classical word order: 马首是瞻 = 瞻马首, where 是 serves as an object-marker inverting "watch the horse's head". Fossilized in the idiom.

Stroke Order

马 mǎ

首 shǒu

是 shì

瞻 zhān