破罐子破摔 (pò guàn zǐ pò shuāi) — to give up on oneself after a failure and act recklessly; to let things slide because they're already bad

Definition

Literally 'smash a cracked jar,' meaning once things have gone wrong, stop caring and act even worse. Often used as a caution: 'don't fall into this.'

idiom
to give up on oneself after a failure and act recklesslyto let things slide because they're already bad

Examples

  • 破罐子破摔，。
    Tā kǎo shì bù jí gé hòu jiù kāi shǐ pò guàn zǐ pò shuāi, lián kè dōu bú shàng le.
    After failing the exam, he started acting recklessly and even stopped going to class.
  • ，破罐子破摔，。
    Gōng sī chū le wèn tí, lǎo bǎn què pò guàn zǐ pò shuāi, shén me dōu bù guǎn le.
    The company had problems, but the boss just gave up and stopped managing anything.
  • 破罐子破摔，。
    Nǐ bù néng yīn wèi yí cì shī bài jiù pò guàn zǐ pò shuāi, yào zhèn zuò qǐ lái.
    You can't just give up after one failure — you need to pull yourself together.

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
石石shí
Sound part声符shēngfú
皮
皮pí破pò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

破 has 石 (stone) as its meaning part and 皮 as its sound part.

Open 破 →

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
缶缶fǒupottery
Sound part声符shēngfú
雚
雚guàn罐guàn(r)
Same sound today

The left part 缶 shows pottery, while the right part 雚 gives the pronunciation.

Open 罐 →

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

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →

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
石石shí
Sound part声符shēngfú
皮
皮pí破pò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

破 has 石 (stone) as its meaning part and 皮 as its sound part.

Open 破 →

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
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
率
率lǜ摔shuāi
Same sound today

In 摔, the 手 part points to a hand action, and the 率 part supplies the sound.

Open 摔 →

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