百折不挠 (bǎi zhé bù náo) — to keep fighting in spite of all setbacks; undaunted by repeated failures; unyielding, persistent

Definition

A formal chengyu meaning 'unbroken by a hundred setbacks' — an extreme, literary way to praise someone's unyielding perseverance. Use in writing or speeches, not everyday speech.

idiom
to keep fighting in spite of all setbacksundaunted by repeated failuresunyieldingpersistent

Examples

  • 百折不挠，。
    Tā píng zhe bǎi zhé bù náo de jīng shén, zhōng yú chéng gōng le.
    With his indomitable spirit, he finally succeeded.
  • 百折不挠。
    Wǒ men zài chuàng yè guò chéng zhōng xū yào bǎi zhé bù náo de yǒng qì.
    We need the courage of perseverance during the entrepreneurial process.
  • 百折不挠。
    bǎi zhé bù náo Shì zhōng huá mín zú de chuán tǒng měi dé.
    Perseverance is a traditional virtue of the Chinese nation.

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.

百折hundred setbacks
百bǎihundred折zhésetback
偏正Modifier + head
不挠not bending
不bùnot挠náobend
偏正Modifier + head

百折 hundred setbacks and 不挠 not bending combine to mean persistent despite failures.

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
一一yī
Sound part声符shēngfú
白
白bái百bǎi
Same sound today

百 combines 一, which carries the number meaning, with 白, which provides the sound.

Open 百 →

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

  • 屮𣏄𣏄a tree {{zh-m|*木}} cut in half
  • 斤斤jīnaxe

The shape originally showed an axe (斤) cutting a tree in half; in 折 the left part is now written as a hand.

Open 折 →

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 撓; 挠 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
堯
堯yáo撓náo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 撓 pairs 扌 (hand) with 堯 to give the sound; the simplified 挠 is a later shorthand.

Open 挠 →

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