食古不化 shí gǔ bù huà

DEFINITIONS

  1. to swallow ancient learning without digesting it (idiom)
  2. to be pedantic without having a mastery of one's subject

CHARACTERS

食 shí
HSK 5
eat; meal; food; KangXi radical number 184
古 gǔ
HSK 5
old, classic, ancient
不 bù
HSK 1
no, not; un-; negative prefix
化 huà
HSK 3
change, convert, reform; -ize