📖 Meaning
To move forward in single file like fish swimming one after another. It describes people or objects proceeding in an orderly line, each following the one ahead in succession.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom has no single definitive classical source; it is a traditional metaphor drawn from observing fish swimming in a connected line. The image of fish threading along one behind another has long been used in Chinese to convey orderly, sequential movement. It appears in various historical and literary contexts to describe troops, travelers, or crowds advancing in neat single file. The expression emphasizes disciplined, orderly progression rather than chaotic or scattered movement.
💡 Example Usage
士兵们鱼贯而行，依次进入阵地待命。
The soldiers advanced in single file, entering the position one by one to await orders.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 鱼贯而行
- Pinyin: yú guàn ér xíng
- Literal Translation: fish, string together, then, walk
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4