上梁不正下梁歪
shàng liáng bù zhèng xià liáng wāi
Pinyin

Definition

上梁不正下梁歪
 - 
shàng liáng bù zhèng xià liáng wāi
  1. lit. If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked (idiom); fig. subordinates imitate their superiors' vices

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

一下
yī xià
  1. 1 (used after a verb) give it a go
  2. 2 to do (sth for a bit to give it a try)
  3. 3 one time
  4. 4 once
  5. 5 in a while
  6. 6 all of a sudden
  7. 7 all at once
上
shǎng
  1. 1 see 上聲|上声[shǎng shēng]
下
xià
  1. 1 down
  2. 2 downwards
  3. 3 below
  4. 4 lower
  5. 5 later
  6. 6 next (week etc)
  7. 7 second (of two parts)
  8. 8 to decline
  9. 9 to go down
  10. 10 to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc)
  11. 11 measure word to show the frequency of an action
下载
xià zǎi
  1. 1 to download
  2. 2 also pr. [xià zài]
不
bù
  1. 1 (negative prefix)
  2. 2 not
  3. 3 no
一下子
yī xià zi
  1. 1 in a short while
  2. 2 all at once
  3. 3 all of a sudden
上下
shàng xià
  1. 1 up and down
  2. 2 top and bottom
  3. 3 old and new
  4. 4 length
  5. 5 about
上来
shàng lái
  1. 1 to come up
  2. 2 to approach
  3. 3 (verb complement indicating success)
上传
shàng chuán
  1. 1 to upload
上午
shàng wǔ
  1. 1 morning
  2. 2 CL:個|个[gè]
上去
shàng qù
  1. 1 to go up
上台
shàng tái
  1. 1 to rise to power (in politics)
  2. 2 to go on stage (in the theater)
上司
shàng si
  1. 1 boss
  2. 2 superior
上场
shàng chǎng
  1. 1 on stage
  2. 2 to go on stage
  3. 3 to take the field
上天
shàng tiān
  1. 1 Heaven
  2. 2 Providence
  3. 3 God
  4. 4 the day before
  5. 5 the sky above
  6. 6 to fly to the sky
  7. 7 to take off and fly into space
  8. 8 to die
  9. 9 to pass away
上学
shàng xué
  1. 1 to go to school
  2. 2 to attend school
上市
shàng shì
  1. 1 to hit the market (of a new product)
  2. 2 to float (a company on the stock market)
上帝
Shàng dì
  1. 1 God
上床
shàng chuáng
  1. 1 to go to bed
  2. 2 (coll.) to have sex
上升
shàng shēng
  1. 1 to rise
  2. 2 to go up
  3. 3 to ascend

Idioms (20)

一不做，二不休
yī bù zuò , èr bù xiū
  1. 1 don't do it, or don't rest (idiom); either give up, or go through to the end
  2. 2 Since we started, we must carry it through whatever happens.
  3. 3 in for a penny, in for a pound
一哭二闹三上吊
yī kū èr nào sān shàng diào
  1. 1 to make a terrible scene (idiom)
  2. 2 to throw a tantrum
一问三不知
yī wèn sān bù zhī
  1. 1 lit. to reply "don't know" whatever the question (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. absolutely no idea of what's going on
  3. 3 complete ignorance
一尘不染
yī chén bù rǎn
  1. 1 untainted by even a speck of dust (idiom); selfless and incorruptible
  2. 2 spotless
一字不提
yī zì bù tí
  1. 1 to not mention a single word (about sth) (idiom)
一山不容二虎
yī shān bù róng èr hǔ
  1. 1 lit. the mountain can't have two tigers (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. this town ain't big enough for the two of us
  3. 3 (of two rivals) to be fiercely competitive
一成不变
yī chéng bù biàn
  1. 1 nothing much changes (idiom); always the same
  2. 2 stuck in a rut
一文不值
yī wén bù zhí
  1. 1 worthless (idiom)
  2. 2 no use whatsoever
一日不见，如隔三秋
yī rì bù jiàn , rú gé sān qiū
  1. 1 one day apart seems like three years (idiom)
一条绳上的蚂蚱
yī tiáo shéng shàng de mà zha
  1. 1 lit. grasshoppers tied together with a piece of string (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. people who are in it together for better or worse
  3. 3 people who will sink or swim together
一毛不拔
yī máo bù bá
  1. 1 stingy (idiom)
一瓶子不响，半瓶子晃荡
yī píng zi bù xiǎng , bàn píng zi huàng dang
  1. 1 lit. a full bottle makes no sound; a half-filled bottle sloshes (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. empty vessels make the most noise
一病不起
yī bìng bù qǐ
  1. 1 to fall gravely ill, never to recover (idiom)
一窍不通
yī qiào bù tōng
  1. 1 lit. doesn't (even) enter a single aperture (of one's head)
  2. 2 I don't understand a word (idiom)
  3. 3 it's all Greek to me
一笔不苟
yī bǐ bù gǒu
  1. 1 lit. not even one stroke is negligent (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to write characters (calligraphy) in which every stroke is placed perfectly
一丝不挂
yī sī bù guà
  1. 1 not wearing one thread (idiom); absolutely naked
  2. 2 without a stitch of clothing
  3. 3 in one's birthday suit
一丝不苟
yī sī bù gǒu
  1. 1 not one thread loose (idiom); strictly according to the rules
  2. 2 meticulous
  3. 3 not one hair out of place
一着不慎，满盘皆输
yī zhāo bù shèn , mǎn pán jiē shū
  1. 1 One careless move and the whole game is lost. (idiom)
一言不发
yī yán bù fā
  1. 1 to not say a word (idiom)
一语不发
yī yǔ bù fā
  1. 1 to not say a word (idiom)

Sample Sentences