抄作业 — Copying Homework / Following Someone's Playbook
What Does 抄作业 Mean?
Copying someone's homework — taking their solution and using it yourself. Used at every scale: a student literally copying classwork, a city copying another city's successful tourism strategy, a country copying another country's policy, a startup copying a successful business model. The homework metaphor implies both the pragmatism of learning from others and the laziness of not doing your own work. Context determines whether it's clever or embarrassing.
Cultural Context
Particularly prominent in discussions of international policy and business strategy. When China's urban policies succeed, other cities 抄作业. When Western countries want to implement similar pandemic measures, they're 抄作业 from China. The phrase is value-neutral — whether copying homework is smart efficiency or intellectual theft depends entirely on who's doing it and who's watching.
Similar Expressions in English
Like 'following their playbook,' 'taking a page from their book,' 'copying their model,' or 'borrowing their blueprint.' The schoolwork metaphor implies both the appropriateness and the slightly embarrassing nature of the copying.
How Is It Used?
Chinese Explanation (中文解释)
照搬他人的成功经验或做法，可指良性学习借鉴，也可指政策抄袭或投机取巧，语境不同含义不同。