遵照

• Pinyin: zūn zhào
• Hanzi breakdown: 遵 = 辶+ 尊 (movement + honour — to follow respectfully); 照 = 日 + 灬+ 刀 (sun + fire + knife — to illuminate/shine upon)

Meaning

In accordance with; following exactly. To act strictly in line with specific instructions, orders, or stipulations.

More specific and directive than 遵循, 遵照 is typically used with concrete orders, directives, or wills rather than abstract principles. Common in official documents, legal texts, medical instructions, and military or administrative contexts.

Examples

1. 全体成员须遵照本协议的各项条款履行各自义务，任何一方不得擅自变更或撤销相关约定。 All members must fulfill their respective obligations in accordance with every clause of this agreement, and no party may alter or revoke the relevant arrangements without authorization.
2. 医生叮嘱患者遵照处方按时服药，不得随意增减剂量，以确保疗效并避免不良反应。 The doctor instructed the patient to take the medicine on time according to the prescription and not to increase or decrease the dosage at will, in order to ensure efficacy and avoid adverse reactions.
3. 工程施工队遵照设计图纸的技术要求，严格把控每一道工序的质量标准，确保项目顺利推进。 The construction team followed the technical requirements of the design drawings and strictly controlled the quality standards of every procedure to ensure the smooth progress of the project.

Usage Guide

Context: law, medicine, administration, military, contracts

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 请遵照合同第七条的相关规定，在规定期限内完成全部交付工作，逾期将按约定承担违约责任。(Please act in accordance with the provisions of Article 7 of the contract and complete all deliverables within the stipulated deadline; failure to do so will incur the agreed penalties.)
• 他遵照父亲的遗嘱，将名下房产平均分配给三个子女，并委托律师完成了相关过户手续。(Following his father's will, he distributed the property under his name equally among the three children and entrusted a lawyer to complete the relevant transfer procedures.)

Don't Say

• 我遵照自己的感觉做事 — 遵照 requires a concrete external directive as its object; for acting on intuition use 凭感觉 or 按照自己的判断

Origin & History

遵 (to comply with) + 照 (according to/in accordance with)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal