hán邯Handān郸Danxué学learnbù步walk
Learning to walk in Handan — imitating clumsily and forgetting what you already knew.
Literal meaning
Han (邯) — Dan (郸) — learn (学) — walk (步)
Origin
Zhuangzi (《庄子·秋水》). A young man from the state of Yan went to the city of Handan to learn the famously elegant walking style of its residents. He couldn't master the new style and forgot how to walk normally; he had to crawl home. The story has stood for clumsy imitation that loses you both old and new ever since.
Examples
Mángmù mófǎng biéren, fǎn'ér hán dān xué bù.盲目模仿别人，反而邯郸学步。
Blind imitation ends up like Handan-walking — lose both styles.
Xué学wài外yǔ语bú不yào要hán邯dān郸xué学bù步。
Don't lose your own style trying to copy a foreign one.
Usage & nuances
Critical, slightly literary. Used in cultural and educational commentary about imitation that goes wrong.
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