悔不当初 (huǐ bù dāng chū) — to regret a past decision, to wish one had acte…

Definition

A set idiom meaning 'to regret a past decision and wish one had chosen differently.' Often paired with 早知如此 or 后 (后) + verb to express hindsight.

idiom

to regret a past decision, to wish one had acted differently

悔不当初，。
Tā xiàn zài huǐ bù dāng chū, dāng chū bù gāi cí zhí.
He regrets it now; he shouldn't have quit his job in the first place.
悔不当初，。
Wǒ zhēn shì huǐ bù dāng chū, méi yǒu tīng nǐ de quàn gào.
I truly regret not having followed your advice.
悔不当初，。
huǐ bù dāng chū, Dāng chū yào shi nǔ lì xué xí jiù hǎo le.
If only I had studied hard back then — I regret it now.

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.

忄每悔

Meaning part形符xíngfú

忄Written in full as心xīn

Sound part声符shēngfú

每

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

悔 pairs 忄, the heart part, with 每, which gives a sound hint.

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.

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 當; 当 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

尚

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 當 combines 田 (field) with 尚; the evidence describes fields facing each other.

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

衤刀初

初 combines 衤 (clothes) and 刀 (knife), showing the start of making clothes by cutting cloth.