如影随形如影隨形 in English
- lit. as the shadow follows the body (idiom) / fig. closely associated with each other / inseparable / to follow relentlessly
Stroke order
Show the animation Stroke data from Make Me a Hanzi, derived from the Arphic PL fonts under the Arphic Public License.
Show the animation Stroke data from Make Me a Hanzi, derived from the Arphic PL fonts under the Arphic Public License.
Show the animation 
Stroke data from Make Me a Hanzi, derived from the Arphic PL fonts under the Arphic Public License.
Show the animation Stroke data from Make Me a Hanzi, derived from the Arphic PL fonts under the Arphic Public License.
How it used to be written
如
-
Oracle bone script 商 -
Clerical script 東漢 - See all 13 forms
随
These are the forms of 隨, the traditional character: 随 is a twentieth-century simplification, found in no ancient corpus.
-
Small seal script -
Clerical script 東漢 - See all 8 forms
形
-
Small seal script -
Clerical script 曹魏 - See all 4 forms
Forms, sources and dates: the 字形演變 database of 小學堂, Academia Sinica, public domain (CC0).
Examples
-
人生如梦，如影随形，像个蹩脚的演员，在舞台上虚张声势、矫揉造作一小时，然后便销声匿迹。人生如白痴讲的故事，喧嚣吵杂，却毫无意义。
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
-
心灵纯净时，喜悦便如影随形。
When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.