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食古不化

shí gǔ bù huàdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
to swallow ancient learning without digesting it (idiom) / to be pedantic without having a mastery of one's subject
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-3d21db93afbff145. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

食古不化 食古不化 [shi2 gu3 bu4 hua4] /to swallow ancient learning without digesting it (idiom)/to be pedantic without having a mastery of one's subject/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

  • 食
    shí

    to eat / food / animal feed / eclipse

    sì

    to feed (a person or animal)

  • 古
    gǔ

    ancient / old / paleo-

    Gǔ

    surname Gu

  • 不
    bù

    no / not so / (bound form) not / un-

  • 化
    huā

    See the full entry for source details.

    huà

    to make into / to change into / -ization / to ... -ize / to transform / abbr. for 化學|化学[huà xué]

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.