鳞次栉比

鱗次櫛比
líncìzhìbǐ
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 row upon row (like fish scales or comb teeth)
  2. 2 packed closely in rows
  3. 3 tightly arranged side by side

Examples

Shì zhōngxīn de gāolóu líncìzhìbǐ.
High-rises are packed row upon row in the city center.
Jiēdào liǎng páng de diànpù líncìzhìbǐ, shífēn rènao.
Shops line both sides of the street in tight rows — very bustling.

Tips

history
Roots in 《··》: '比如' — 'arranged as close as comb teeth'. The four-character form appears in Bao Zhao's Southern-dynasty 《》 poem: '京城十二。'
memory
(fish scales) + (comb teeth) — two things famous for being packed in tight parallel rows. Buildings, shops, or houses 'like scales and teeth' — dense, aligned, unbroken.

Stroke Order

lín
zhì