zǒuhòumén: 走后门 - To use backdoor connections, to pull strings

• Keywords: zǒu hòumén, zou houmen, 走后门, pull strings in Chinese, backdoor connections, Chinese guanxi, nepotism in China, getting something through connections, unfair advantage, Chinese bureaucracy, social connections in China.
• Summary: In Chinese, the phrase zǒu hòumén (走后门) literally means “to walk through the back door.” Figuratively, it's a widely used and culturally significant term for using personal connections or guanxi (关系) to bypass official procedures and gain an unfair advantage. Whether it's for getting a job, a promotion, a place in a good school, or even a hospital bed, learning “zǒu hòumén” is essential for understanding the nuances of Chinese social dynamics, bureaucracy, and the concept of “pulling strings.”

• Pinyin (with tone marks): zǒu hòumén
• Part of Speech: Verb Phrase
• HSK Level: HSK 5
• Concise Definition: To gain an advantage or achieve a goal through unofficial, personal connections rather than through proper channels.
• In a Nutshell: Imagine a long line of people waiting to get into a popular venue through the front entrance. To “zǒu hòumén” is to know the bouncer and slip in through the unguarded back door, avoiding the line and the rules everyone else has to follow. This phrase vividly captures the feeling of using a secret, personal “in” to get ahead. It almost always carries a negative connotation of unfairness and mild corruption.

• 走 (zǒu): To walk, to go, to travel. It's a basic character depicting a person walking.
• 后 (hòu): Back, behind, rear.
• 门 (mén): Door, gate, entrance. The character is a pictogram of a double-leaf door.

When combined, 走后门 (zǒu hòumén) literally translates to “to walk through the back door.” This simple, physical action has become a powerful and universal metaphor in China for circumventing the formal “front door” of rules, applications, and official procedures.

The concept of `走后门` is deeply intertwined with the Chinese idea of 关系 (guānxi), or one's network of personal relationships. While `guanxi` itself can be a neutral term, similar to “networking” in the West, `走后门` is its negative application. It's the point where networking crosses the line into cronyism, nepotism, or favoritism. Comparison to Western Culture: The closest English equivalent is “pulling strings” or “using a backdoor connection.” However, there's a key difference in emphasis and prevalence. In many Western cultures, while “pulling strings” exists, it's often seen as a clear and significant breach of ethics. In China, due to complex historical and bureaucratic reasons, the need to `走后门` can sometimes be perceived as a pragmatic, almost necessary, way to navigate a rigid or inefficient system. While people will still criticize it as unfair, there's often an underlying understanding or resignation that “this is how things get done.” `走后门` is a direct challenge to the value of 公平 (gōngpíng), or fairness. Its common usage in daily conversation reflects a societal tension between how things *should* work (according to the rules) and how they *often* work (through personal connections).

`走后门` is a very common, informal phrase you'll hear in everyday conversations. It's used to describe, complain about, or inquire about situations where someone is suspected of gaining an unfair advantage.

• In the Workplace: Discussing how someone got a job or a promotion. (e.g., “He's not very qualified, he must have used a backdoor connection.”)
• In Education: Talking about admission to a highly competitive school or university.
• In Healthcare: Explaining how someone managed to see a famous doctor without a long wait or get a hospital bed quickly.
• In Business: Referring to the act of using connections to secure a license, a contract, or to bypass regulations.

The connotation is consistently negative. It implies the person who benefited did not earn it on merit, and the system is unfair. No one proudly proclaims, “I got this job by walking through the back door!” It's usually a criticism or a reluctant admission.

• Example 1:
  • 他能力不强，能得到这个工作肯定是走后门了。
  • Pinyin: Tā nénglì bù qiáng, néng dédào zhège gōngzuò kěndìng shì zǒu hòumén le.
  • English: His ability isn't strong; he definitely must have used his connections to get this job.
  • Analysis: A classic example of using the phrase to express suspicion and criticism about someone's qualifications.
• Example 2:
  • 想进那所好学校，不走后门几乎是不可能的。
  • Pinyin: Xiǎng jìn nà suǒ hǎo xuéxiào, bù zǒu hòumén jīhū shì bù kěnéng de.
  • English: If you want to get into that good school, it's almost impossible without pulling some strings.
  • Analysis: This shows the feeling of resignation and perceived necessity of `走后门` in a highly competitive situation.
• Example 3:
  • 我爸妈想让我进国企，但我不想靠走后门。
  • Pinyin: Wǒ bà mā xiǎng ràng wǒ jìn guóqǐ, dàn wǒ bùxiǎng kào zǒu hòumén.
  • English: My parents want me to get into a state-owned enterprise, but I don't want to rely on backdoor connections.
  • Analysis: Here, the speaker expresses a personal ethical stance against the practice. “靠 (kào)” means “to rely on.”
• Example 4:
  • 现在看病太难了，很多人都得想办法走后门才能挂上专家号。
  • Pinyin: Xiànzài kànbìng tài nán le, hěnduō rén dōu děi xiǎng bànfǎ zǒu hòumén cáinéng guà shàng zhuānjiā hào.
  • English: Seeing a doctor is so difficult now; many people have to find a way to use connections just to get an appointment with a specialist.
  • Analysis: This sentence highlights a common complaint about public services, where `走后门` becomes a tool for access.
• Example 5:
  • 你觉得他是走后门进来的吗？
  • Pinyin: Nǐ juédé tā shì zǒu hòumén jìnlái de ma?
  • English: Do you think he got in by pulling strings?
  • Analysis: A common way to form a question, used when gossiping or speculating about someone's success.
• Example 6:
  • 我们公司不允许有任何走后门的行为。
  • Pinyin: Wǒmen gōngsī bù yǔnxǔ yǒu rènhé zǒu hòumén de xíngwéi.
  • English: Our company does not permit any behavior of using backdoor connections.
  • Analysis: Used in a more formal, official context to state a policy against the practice. “行为 (xíngwéi)” means “behavior” or “act.”
• Example 7:
  • 如果不是他叔叔给院长开后门，他根本住不进这个医院。
  • Pinyin: Rúguǒ bùshì tā shūshu gěi yuànzhǎng kāi hòumén, tā gēnběn zhù bù jìn zhège yīyuàn.
  • English: If his uncle hadn't opened the back door for the hospital director, he wouldn't have been able to get into this hospital at all.
  • Analysis: This introduces the related phrase `开后门 (kāi hòumén)`, “to open the back door,” which focuses on the person *granting* the favor, not the one receiving it.
• Example 8:
  • 在这个行业，光有能力不行，有时候还得会走后门。
  • Pinyin: Zài zhège hángyè, guāng yǒu nénglì bùxíng, yǒushíhòu hái děi huì zǒu hòumén.
  • English: In this industry, just having ability isn't enough; sometimes you also have to know how to work the system.
  • Analysis: A cynical but practical observation about how some fields operate. “Work the system” is a good contextual translation here.
• Example 9:
  • 他最讨厌别人走后门，凡事都讲究公平竞争。
  • Pinyin: Tā zuì tǎoyàn biérén zǒu hòumén, fánshì dōu jiǎngjiù gōngpíng jìngzhēng.
  • English: He hates it when others use connections; he insists on fair competition in all matters.
  • Analysis: This sets up `走后门` as the direct opposite of `公平竞争 (gōngpíng jìngzhēng)`, “fair competition.”
• Example 10:
  • 为了拿到那个项目，他到处托人走后门。
  • Pinyin: Wèile nádào nàge xiàngmù, tā dàochù tuō rén zǒu hòumén.
  • English: In order to get that project, he asked for favors everywhere to pull strings.
  • Analysis: “托人 (tuō rén)” means “to ask someone for a favor,” which is the action one takes to initiate the process of `走后门`.

• Literal vs. Figurative: The most common mistake for learners is confusing the literal and figurative meanings. `走后门` is almost exclusively used figuratively. If you want to say you are literally walking through a physical back door, you would say something different.
  • Figurative (Correct): 他是走后门进公司的。(He got into the company by using connections.)
  • Literal (Correct): 他从后门走进了公司。(He walked into the company from the back door.)
  • Literal (Incorrect): 他走后门进了公司。 (This would be understood figuratively by a native speaker).
• Not the same as “Networking”: Do not use `走后门` to describe positive, open networking. Networking is `搞关系 (gǎo guānxi)` or `建立人脉 (jiànlì rénmài)`. `走后门` is specifically using those relationships to *cheat* a formal system. It implies a zero-sum game where your gain is someone else's loss because they followed the rules and you didn't.

• 关系 (guānxi) - The network of social connections that is the prerequisite for being able to `走后门`.
• 开后门 (kāi hòumén) - “To open the back door.” The action taken by the person in power who grants the unfair advantage. `走后门` is from the perspective of the beneficiary; `开后门` is from the perspective of the enabler.
• 后门 (hòumén) - The noun “backdoor,” which can be used alone to mean a “connection.” Ex: `他有后门` (Tā yǒu hòumén) - “He has a backdoor connection.”
• 人情 (rénqíng) - The “human feeling” or social favor that is owed and exchanged. `走后门` often involves cashing in or creating a `人情`.
• 拉关系 (lā guānxi) - “To pull connections.” The active process of building or leveraging `guanxi`, often with the intention of eventually `走后门`.
• 潜规则 (qián guīzé) - “Unwritten rules.” The idea that society has hidden rules, and `走后门` is often one of them.
• 腐败 (fǔbài) - “Corruption.” `走后门` is considered a form of soft corruption.
• 公平 (gōngpíng) - “Fairness.” This is the core value that `走后门` undermines. It's the ideological antonym.
• 走捷径 (zǒu jiéjìng) - “To take a shortcut.” A more general term, but `走后门` is a very specific, and often unethical, type of shortcut.