如法炮制

如法炮製

rúfǎ-páozhì

idiom #39,909

Meanings

1 to follow the same method
2 to do it by the same recipe
3 to copy an existing approach

Characters

to roast/process (medicinal herbs)

to prepare; to make

Examples

第一家店成功了，他又在别的城市如法炮制。

Dìyī jiā diàn chénggōng le, tā yòu zài biéde chéngshì rúfǎpáozhì.

After the first store succeeded, he replicated the formula in other cities.

骗子如法炮制，接连骗了好几个老人。

Piànzi rúfǎpáozhì, jiēlián piàn le hǎojǐ gè lǎorén.

The scammer used the same playbook and cheated several elderly victims in a row.

他看到别人这样赚钱，也想如法炮制。

Tā kàndào biérén zhèyàng zhuànqián, yě xiǎng rúfǎpáozhì.

Seeing others make money that way, he wanted to follow the same recipe.

Tips

history

From the Qing novel 《镜花缘》 by Li Ruzhen: "即如法炮制，果然把阵破了" — they carried out the method and indeed broke the formation. 炮制 (páozhì) is the traditional Chinese-medicine term for processing herbs by roasting — hence "follow the recipe as prescribed."

mistakes

炮 here reads páo, not pào. It refers to medicinal roasting/processing, not cannons. A very common mistake among native speakers too.

Stroke Order

如 rú

法 fǎ

炮 pào

制 zhì