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不顾一切 (bù gù yī qiè) — regardless of everything; at all costs; desperately

Definition

An idiom meaning 'at all costs' or 'recklessly', emphasizing total disregard for consequences. Used adverbially, often before 地 + verb, to describe desperate, all-out action.

idiom
regardless of everythingat all costsdesperately

Examples

  • 不顾一切。
    Tā bù gù yī qiè dì chōng jìn huǒ chǎng jiù rén.
    He rushed into the burning building to save people, regardless of everything.
  • ，不顾一切。
    Wèi le mèng xiǎng, tā bù gù yī qiè dì lí kāi le jiā xiāng.
    For her dream, she left her hometown at all costs.
  • 不顾一切。
    Tā bù gù yī qiè dì tóu zī le quán bù jī xù.
    He invested all his savings regardless of the risks.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 顧; 顾 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yè
Sound part声符shēngfú
雇
雇gù顧gù
Same sound today

The traditional form 顧 combines 雇 as a sound part and 頁 as a meaning part; 顾 is the simplified form of 顧.

Open 顾 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
刀刀dāoknife
Sound part声符shēngfú
七
七qī切qiè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 切, the 刀 (knife) part is joined to 七, which gives the sound.

Open 切 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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