生吞活剥

生吞活剝
shēngtūn-huóbō
idiom #20,427

Meanings

  1. 1 to apply mechanically without understanding
  2. 2 to copy blindly
  3. 3 to swallow whole without digesting

Examples

HSK 3
Xuéxí bùnéng shēngtūn-huóbō, yào zhēnzhèng lǐjiě cái xíng.
You can't just mechanically copy what you learn - you need to truly understand it.
HSK 4
Tā bǎ wàiguó de lǐlùn shēngtūn-huóbō de tào yòng, wánquán bù kǎolǜ shíjì qíngkuàng.
He blindly applied foreign theory without considering the actual circumstances at all.

Tips

memory
The literal image is brutal: 'swallow raw' (生吞) + 'skin alive' (活剥). Something consumed so crudely it isn't processed at all. Figuratively: copying or applying ideas so mechanically they lose all meaning - nothing is digested.

Stroke Order

shēng
tūn
huó
bāo