一往无前 (yì wǎng wú qián) — to forge ahead fearlessly; to advance resolutely without looking back

Definition

An idiom meaning to forge ahead fearlessly and never look back, used in formal or rhetorical writing. Often paired with 的精神 or 的勇气.

idiom
to forge ahead fearlesslyto advance resolutely without looking back

Examples

  • 一往无前,。
    Tā zài kùn nan miàn qián yì wǎng wú qián, zuì zhōng qǔ dé le chéng gōng.
    He pressed forward fearlessly in the face of difficulties and finally achieved success.
  • 一往无前。
    Zhè zhī duì wu yǐ yì wǎng wú qián de jīng shén wán chéng le cháng zhēng.
    This team completed the Long March with an indomitable spirit.
  • 一往无前,。
    Chuàng yè zhě xū yào yì wǎng wú qián de yǒng qì, cái néng kāi pì xīn tiān dì.
    Entrepreneurs need the courage to forge ahead fearlessly in order to open up new horizons.

Origin

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

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
止止zhǐfoot
Sound part声符shēngfú
王
王wáng往wǎng
Same sound today

The form that became 往 paired 止, a foot, with 王 for the sound; a stepping part was later added, and the right side changed.

Open 往 →

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 →

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

In the older form of 前, 止 (foot) and 舟 (boat) showed a foot on a boat moving forward; in the current 前 those parts are shortened.

Open 前 →

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