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顰みに倣う (ひそみにならう) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Meanings 1
expression, godan verb (-u)
to imitate foolishly ; to blindly follow a bad example
Idiomatic expression meaning to copy someone else's bad habit or mistake without thinking. Often used self-deprecatingly or to criticize mindless imitation. The usage note 'sometimes humble' reflects its use in humble contexts when referring to one's own actions.
私わたし も 顰ひそ み に 倣なら っ て 、 つい 無む 駄だ 遣づか い を し て しまっ た 。
I also blindly followed suit and ended up wasting money.
Written forms 顰ひそ みに 倣なら う
Standard kanji form for the idiom. 顰み is the nominalized form of 顰める (to knit one's brows).
顰に倣う
ひんにならう
Similar words 真似まね る 真似る is a general verb for 'to imitate' or 'to copy', without the negative connotation of foolishness or blind imitation inherent in 顰みに倣う.
右みぎ へ 倣なら え 右へ倣え literally means 'follow the right' and is used to mean 'follow the example of others' or 'conform', often in a neutral or positive sense, unlike the negative nuance of 顰みに倣う.
Etymology The idiom originates from the classical Chinese story of a woman who knitted her brows (顰み) because of a headache, and an ugly woman in her village imitated her, thinking it was a sign of beauty, only to frighten everyone. The expression thus came to mean 'to imitate someone's bad habit or mistake foolishly'.
