事不过三 (shì bú guò sān) — (idiom) three strikes and you're out; something should not be allowed to happen more than three times

Definition

Literally 'things don't go past three' — an idiom warning that the same mistake or transgression should not be tolerated a third time. Often paired with a concrete consequence (e.g. '再…一次就…') for the final strike.

idiom
three strikes and you're outsomething should not be allowed to happen more than three times

Examples

  • ，事不过三，。
    Nǐ yǐ jīng fàn le liǎng cì cuò wù, shì bú guò sān, bù néng zài fàn dì sān cì.
    You've already made two mistakes; three strikes and you're out — you can't make a third.
  • ，事不过三，。
    Tā qián liǎng cì jiè qián dōu méi hái, shì bú guò sān, wǒ bù xiǎng zài jiè gěi tā le.
    He didn't pay back the first two times he borrowed money; three strikes and you're out — I don't want to lend to him again.
  • ：'事不过三，。'
    Mā ma jǐng gào wǒ shuō: ' shì bú guò sān, zài wǎn guī yí cì jiù kòu líng yòng qián. '
    Mom warned me: 'Three strikes — if you come home late one more time, I'll deduct your allowance.'

Origin

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

In 事, 又 is a hand and 中 is a flagpole with a drum; holding a flag in hand depicts performing a job.

Open 事 →

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 過; 过 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
咼
咼wāi過guò
Same sound today

The traditional form 過 pairs 辵 (walk) with 咼 as a sound component; the simplified 过 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 过 →

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

三 is drawn as three parallel strokes, like 一 with one stroke and 二 with two.

Open 三 →

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