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吃一堑 (chī yī qiàn) — to suffer a setback, to take a fall (often in the saying 吃一堑，长一智)

Definition

A chengyu meaning 'to suffer a setback', almost always used in the paired saying 吃一堑，长一智 ('a fall into the pit, a gain in your wit'). The second half 长一智 is the point: the setback teaches you something.

verb
to suffer a setbackto take a fall (often in the saying 吃一堑，长一智)

Examples

  • ，吃一堑。
    Tā zhè cì kǎo shì méi kǎo hǎo, suàn shì chī yī qiàn le.
    He didn't do well on this exam; it's considered a setback.
  • 吃一堑，。
    Rén zhǐ yǒu chī yī qiàn, cái néng zhǎng yí zhì.
    Only when one suffers a setback can one gain wisdom.
  • 吃一堑。
    Zhè cì chī yī qiàn ràng wǒ xué dào le hěn duō.
    This setback taught me a lot.

Origin

Characters in this word

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
乞
乞qǐ吃chī
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

吃 combines 口 (mouth) with 乞, which gives the sound; it originally wrote a word meaning to stutter.

Open 吃 →

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
土土tǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
斩
斩zhǎn堑qiàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

堑 combines 土 (earth) with 斩, which gives its sound.

Open 堑 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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