望其項背
wàng​qí​xiàng​bèi

be able to catch up

  • created sense approved 望其项背/望其項背 · wàng​qí​xiàng​bèi · be able to catch up — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    望其项背 / 望其項背

    wàng​qí​xiàng​bèi

    be able to catch up

    To be able to see the back of someone's neck; used metaphorically to mean one is close to catching up or comparable in standard (usually used in the negative to mean far inferior or unable to catch up)

    望 (literal) → 望 · wàng · to gaze 其 (literal) → 其 · qí · [third-person possessive] 项背 (literal) → 项背/項背 · xiàng​bèi · someone's back

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense