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Chinese/Dictionary entry

学如逆水行舟，不进则退

xué rú nì shuǐ xíng zhōu , bù jìn zé tuìdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
study is like rowing upstream – if you don't keep pushing forward, you fall behind
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-ab6d6a443e575093. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

學如逆水行舟，不進則退 学如逆水行舟，不进则退 [xue2 ru2 ni4 shui3 xing2 zhou1 , bu4 jin4 ze2 tui4] /study is like rowing upstream – if you don't keep pushing forward, you fall behind/

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: 學如逆水行舟，不進則退

  • 学
    xué

    to learn / to study / to imitate / science / -ology

  • 如
    rú

    as / as if / such as

  • 逆
    nì

    contrary / opposite / backwards / to go against / to oppose / to betray / to rebel

  • 水
    shuǐ

    water / (after a name) ... River / to swim (used mostly in 會水|会水[huì shuǐ] and 水性[shuǐ xìng]) / (coll.) lacking in substance / shoddy / (bound form) additional cost / extra income / classifier for washings of a garment

    Shuǐ

    surname Shui / Shui ethnic group

  • 行
    háng

    (bound form) row / line / (bound form) line of business / trade / profession / (bound form) commercial firm / (bound form) to rank (first, second etc) among one's siblings (by age) / (in data tables) row / (Tw) column / classifier for rows or lines

    héng

    used in 道行[dào héng]

    xíng

    (bound form) to walk / to go / to travel / (literary) trip / journey / visit / (bound form) temporary / makeshift / (bound form) current / in circulation / (bound form) to do / to perform / capable / competent / all right / OK! / will do / behavior / conduct (Taiwan pr. [xìng]) / (literary) about to / soon

  • 舟
    zhōu

    boat

  • 不
    bù

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

  • 进
    jìn

    to go forward / to advance / to go in / to enter / to put in / to submit / to take in / to admit / (math.) base of a number system / classifier for sections in a building or residential compound

  • 则
    zé

    (literary) (conjunction used to express contrast with a previous clause) but / then / (bound form) standard / norm / (bound form) principle / (literary) to imitate / to follow / classifier for written items

  • 退
    tuì

    to retreat / to withdraw / to reject / to return (sth) / to decline

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.