外甥打燈籠——照舊

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Chinese

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sororal nephew; grandson
beat; strike; break
beat; strike; break; mix up; build; fight; fetch; make; tie up; issue; shoot; calculate; since; from; dozen
 
Chinese lantern
to remain the same; to be as before; as always
to remain the same; to be as before; as always; as before
 
trad. (外甥打燈籠——照舊) 外甥 燈籠 —— 照舊
simp. (外甥打灯笼——照旧) 外甥 灯笼 —— 照旧
Literally: “nephew carries a lantern ― to be as before”.

Etymology

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照舊照旧 (zhàojiù, “to be as before”) is a pun on the homophone (zhào jiù, “to shine on one's maternal uncle”).

Pronunciation

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Idiom

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外甥打燈籠——照舊

  1. to remain the same; to be as before