上梁不正 — “If a leader or superior sets a bad example or behaves improperly”
上梁不正 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “If a leader or superior sets a bad example or behaves improperly”. Their subordinates or those below them will follow suit and also behave poorly or commit wrongdoings. Literally, “If the upper beam is not straight”.
上梁不正 Pronunciation and Pinyin
上梁不正 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 上梁不正
Idioms Related to 上梁不正
More idioms starting with 上
- shàng上shàng上xià下xià下throughout an organization or a place
- shàng上xià下yī一xīn心united from top to bottom
- shàng上xià下wéi为nán难difficult from both sides
- shàng上xià下jiāo交kùn困struggling from top to bottom
- shàng上xià下qí其shǒu手collude to manipulate unfairly
- shàng上xià下tóng同xīn心All levels united in spirit
- shàng上xià下tóng同yù欲all levels united in purpose
- shàng上xià下tóng同mén门paternal aunt's husband and niece's husband
- shàng上xià下tiān天guāng光sky and water merge in light
- shàng上xià下dǎ打liang量look someone over carefully
- shàng上xià下fú浮dòng动fluctuate up and down
- shàng上xià下xiāng相ān安superiors and subordinates coexist peacefully
Recommended tools
Chinese Text Image Generator
Create PNGs with pinyin, highlight character parts or remove strokes
Open the tool →
Character Highlight Animator
Choose character parts and animate their colors, together or in stroke order
Open the tool →
Writing Worksheets
Printable tracing sheets with a QR learning companion
Open the tool →
Picture Worksheets
Chinese and English fill-in vocabulary worksheets
Open the tool →Questions about 上梁不正
What does 上梁不正 mean?
上梁不正 (shàng liáng bù zhèng) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “If a leader or superior sets a bad example or behaves improperly”.
How do you pronounce 上梁不正?
上梁不正 is pronounced shàng liáng bù zhèng in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 上梁不正 literally mean?
Literally, 上梁不正 means “If the upper beam is not straight”. It is used to mean “If a leader or superior sets a bad example or behaves improperly”.
What is the Chinese definition of 上梁不正?
比喻上面的人行为不正，下面的人也跟着干坏事