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全军覆没 (quán jūn fù mò) — (idiom) to suffer total failure; to be completely wiped out

Definition

A dramatic, four-character idiom meaning 'completely wiped out' — an entire army, team, or operation destroyed with no survivors. Stronger and more literary than everyday 失败 ('to fail'), and used for total, decisive defeat rather than a setback.

idiom
to suffer total failureto be completely wiped out

Examples

  • ，全军覆没。
    Zài zhè cì bǐ sài zhōng, wǒ men de qiú duì quán jūn fù mò le.
    In this competition, our team was completely defeated.
  • ，全军覆没。
    Nà jiā gōng sī yīn wèi jīng yíng bú shàn, zuì zhōng quán jūn fù mò.
    That company, due to mismanagement, eventually went under.
  • 全军覆没。
    Tā men pài chū de tàn xiǎn duì zài shān nán zhōng quán jūn fù mò.
    The expedition team they sent out perished completely in the mountain disaster.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

全军whole army
全quánwhole军jūnarmy
偏正Modifier + head
覆没overturned and sunk
覆fùoverturn没méisink
联合Coordinate

全 means whole and 军 means army, while 覆 and 没 describe being overturned and sunk, giving total destruction.

Characters in this word

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

The shape puts 入 together with 玉 to show a whole piece of jade, so it means complete or whole.

Open 全 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 軍; 军 is its simplified writing.

  • 車車jūcart; chariot
  • 勹勹bāoto surround

In the traditional form 軍, 車 shows the chariot sense, while the part now written 勹 is a sound part, not the 'surround' 勹. Simplified 军 is a later shorthand.

Open 军 →

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
襾襾yà
Sound part声符shēngfú
復
復fù覆fù
Same sound today

覆 pairs 襾, a part connected to the meaning, with 復, which gives the sound.

Open 覆 →

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 沒; 没 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠬛
𠬛𠬛沒mò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 沒 pairs 水 (water) with 𠬛 as a sound part; this note is about 沒, not the simplified 没.

Open 没 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesMilitary & DefenseSuccess & Failure

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