倒 背 如 流

dào bèi rú liúdictionary entry

to know by heart (so well that you can recite it backwards)

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-a759e3525c85e739. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

倒背如流倒背如流 [dao4 bei4 ru2 liu2] /to know by heart (so well that you can recite it backwards)/

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.

倒
dǎo
to fall / to collapse / to lie horizontally / to fail / to go bankrupt / to overthrow / to change (trains or buses) / to move around / to resell at a profit
dào
to invert / to place upside down or frontside back / to pour out / to tip out / to dump / inverted / upside down / reversed / to go backward / contrary to what one might expect / but / yet
背
bēi
to carry on one's back / (fig.) to bear / to shoulder (a burden, blame etc)
bèi
the back of a body or object / to turn one's back / to hide something from / to learn by heart / to recite from memory / (slang) unlucky / hard of hearing
如
rú
as / as if / such as
流
liú
to flow / to disseminate / to circulate or spread / to move or drift / to degenerate / to banish or send into exile / stream of water or sth resembling one / class, rate or grade

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.