rote

英 [rəʊt] 美 [roʊt]

n.死记硬背；机械的做法 adj.死记硬背的；机械的

◉词源

“Rote”源自中古英语“rote”，可能来自古法语“rote”（习惯、常规），或与古英语“rot”相关，意为“机械重复”。14世纪进入英语，指“机械学习或背诵”，常用于描述无理解的重复行为，尤指教育或表演中的死记硬背。

◉外刊例句

·《The Guardian》 (2025年7月10日)

Students learned by rote, not understanding.

学生靠死记硬背学习，不求理解。

·《The New York Times》 (2024年11月15日)

Her speech felt like rote recitation.

她的演讲像是机械背诵。

◉经典名著

·《简·爱》（Jane Eyre） by Charlotte Brontë (1847)

She learned her lessons by rote.

她靠死记硬背学习功课。

·《远大前程》（Great Expectations） by Charles Dickens (1861)

His prayers were mere rote.

他的祈祷只是机械背诵。

◉Usage Examples

(1) He has conned the poems by rote.

(2) He used to learn everything by rote.

(3) He can say the whole of the English Bible by rote.

(4) She imitated her teacher by rote.

(5) Learning by rote is discouraged in this school.

(6) His poor method of learning by rote made him unable to deal with the problems in his work flexibly.

(1) 他已经把这诗歌背下来了。

(2) 他过去总是死记硬背。

(3) 他能把整本英语《圣经》硬背出来。

(4) 她机械地模仿她的老师。

(5) 这所学校不鼓励死记硬背的学习方式。

(6) 他死记硬背的学习方法使他在工作中不能灵活处理问题。

◉Usage Notes

Rote means learning a fact by repeating it. Rote means learning a fact by repeating it. Rote means learning a fact by repeating it. Do you remember what rote means yet?

Some teachers think rote learning is bad for students. They say that if students just use memorization to learn knowledge that they will not have a deeper understanding of how things relate to one another or can be applied. Another way rote is used, is to refer to knowing something so well that you can recite it from memory, or by heart. You might know a lot of nursery from childhood by rote.

◉柯林斯词典

1. [N-UNCOUNT 不可数名词]死记硬背 Rote learning or learning by rote is learning things by repeating them without thinking about them or trying to understand them. [N n]

① He is very sceptical about the value of rote learning...

他非常怀疑死记硬背是否有用。

② You are merely reciting facts that you have learned by rote.

你只是在背诵自己死记硬背下来的东西。