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无可挽回 (wú kě wǎn huí) — irretrievable, irreversible, beyond recovery

Definition

A four-character expression meaning a situation cannot be put right again — stronger than just 'bad', it stresses the loss is permanent and no longer fixable. The die is cast, with no room to reverse or redeem.

verb
irretrievableirreversiblebeyond recovery

Examples

  • ，无可挽回。
    Zhè ge jué dìng yí dàn zuò chū, jiù wú kě wǎn huí le.
    Once this decision is made, it's irreversible.
  • ，无可挽回。
    Shí jiān yǐ jīng guò qù, zào chéng de sǔn shī wú kě wǎn huí.
    Time has passed, and the damage caused is irretrievable.
  • ，无可挽回。
    Tā men de guān xì yǐ jīng pò liè, wú kě wǎn huí le.
    Their relationship has broken down and is beyond recovery.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

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kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
丂
丂kǎo可kě
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

可 pairs 口 (mouth) with 丂 as a sound part; it is tied to air from the mouth, perhaps singing.

Open 可 →

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
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
免
免miǎn挽wǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 挽, the left part 扌 is a hand symbol, showing an action done with the hand. The right part 免 supplies the sound.

Open 挽 →

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

回 comes from a drawing of a spiral, showing something turning around.

Open 回 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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