上梁不正下梁歪

shàng liáng bù zhèng xià liáng wāi

Dictionary entry

lit. If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked (idiom); fig. subordinates imitate their superiors' vices

What does 上梁不正下梁歪 mean?

上梁不正下梁歪 (shàng liáng bù zhèng xià liáng wāi) has the following dictionary meaning.

1lit. If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked (idiom); fig. subordinates imitate their superiors' vices

Character breakdown

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上shǎngused in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1]梁LiángLiang Dynasty (502–557) · Later Liang Dynasty (907–923)不bùno; not so · (bound form) not; un-正zhēngfirst month of the lunar year 下xiàdown · downwards 歪wāiaskew · at a crooked angle

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How to pronounce 上梁不正下梁歪

上梁不正下梁歪

shàng liáng bù zhèng xià liáng wāi

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Base dictionary data: CC-CEDICT · CC BY-SA 4.0.