按图索骥 — Chinese idiom
按图索骥
àn tú suǒ jì
Traditional: 按圖索驥
Meaning
- lit. looking for a fine horse using only a picture
- fig. to do things along rigid, conventional lines
- to try and find sth with the help of a clue
Character by character
- 按ànto check, to control, to push, to restrain
- 图túdiagram, chart, map, picture; to plan
- 索suǒcable, rope; rules, laws; to demand, to exact; to
- 骥jìa thoroughbred horse; refined, virtuous
Idioms sharing a character
- 按兵不动 àn bīng bù dòng
- 按部就班 àn bù jiù bān
- 励精图治 lì jīng tú zhì
- 另有企图 lìng yǒu qǐ tú
- 唯利是图 wéi lì shì tú
- 图穷匕见 tú qióng bǐ xiàn
- 幡然改图 fān rán gǎi tú
- 感恩图报 gǎn ēn tú bào
- 发奋图强 fā fèn tú qiáng
- 发愤图强 fā fèn tú qiáng
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3). Retrieved 2026-10-22.