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机不可失 (jī bù kě shī) — must not miss the opportunity; cannot afford to let the chance pass

Definition

A fixed idiom warning 'don't let the chance slip away.' It usually pairs with 时不再来, and together they emphasize that a good opportunity comes once and must be seized.

idiom
must not miss the opportunitycannot afford to let the chance pass

Examples

  • 机不可失，，。
    jī bù kě shī, Shí bú zài lái, nǐ yí dìng yào zhuā zhù zhè cì jī huì.
    Opportunity knocks but once — you must seize this chance.
  • 机不可失，。
    Xiàn zài tóu zī zhè ge xiàng mù zhēn shì jī bù kě shī, cuò guò le jiù méi yǒu le.
    Investing in this project now is truly a must-seize opportunity — if you miss it, it's gone.
  • 机不可失，。
    Tā míng bai jī bù kě shī, suǒ yǐ lì kè qiān le hé tong.
    He understood that he must not lose the opportunity, so he signed the contract immediately.

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
木木mùtree; wood
Sound part声符shēngfú
几
几jǐ机jī
Same sound today

The left part is 木 (tree; wood), and the right part 几 gives the sound.

Open 机 →

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.

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 →

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

The shape is explained as a fallen person's footprint surrounded by drops of blood; another reading pairs 手 (hand) and 乙 to show something falling from a hand.

Open 失 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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