顺水推舟

順水推舟

shùnshuǐ-tuīzhōu

idiom #34,025

Meanings

HSK 7-9

他既然提议了，我就顺水推舟答应了。

Tā jìrán tíyì le, wǒ jiù shùnshuǐ-tuīzhōu dāyìng le.

Since he brought it up, I went with it and agreed.

HSK 7-9

对方主动让步，我们顺水推舟拿下了合同。

Duìfāng zhǔdòng ràngbù, wǒmen shùnshuǐ-tuīzhōu náxià le hétong.

They made a concession, so we rode the current and closed the deal.

history

From Guan Hanqing's Yuan drama 《窦娥冤》 act 3, in the variant 顺水推船. The idea: steer with the current instead of against it.

usage

Usually positive - shows tactical sense, not laziness. Compare with 随波逐流 (drifting with the waves), which is passive and critical.

顺 shùn

水 shuǐ

推 tuī

舟 zhōu