陈 陈 相 因

chén chén xiāng yīndictionary entry

(idiom) to slavishly follow old patterns / to stick to outdated conventions

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-8af0acb1e28cf1a7. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

陳陳相因 陈陈相因 [chen2 chen2 xiang1 yin1] /(idiom) to slavishly follow old patterns; to stick to outdated conventions/

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.

Other forms in these source records: 陳陳相因

陈
chén
(bound form) to lay out / to exhibit / to display / (bound form) to narrate / to state / to explain / to tell / old / stale
Chén
surname Chen / Chen (c. 1045 – 479 BC), a Zhou dynasty state / Chen (557–589), one of the Southern Dynasties 南朝[Nán Cháo]
陈
chén
(bound form) to lay out / to exhibit / to display / (bound form) to narrate / to state / to explain / to tell / old / stale
Chén
surname Chen / Chen (c. 1045 – 479 BC), a Zhou dynasty state / Chen (557–589), one of the Southern Dynasties 南朝[Nán Cháo]
相
xiāng
each other / one another / mutually / fret on the neck of a pipa 琵琶[pí pa] (a fret on the soundboard is called a 品[pǐn])
xiàng
appearance / portrait / picture / government minister / (physics) phase / (literary) to appraise (esp. by scrutinizing physical features) / to read sb's fortune (by physiognomy, palmistry etc)
Xiāng
surname Xiang
因
yīn
cause / reason / because

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.