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一蹶不振 (yī jué bù zhèn) — to be unable to recover after a single setback; to collapse after one failure

Definition

A 成语 for collapse after one failure with no recovery — 'fall and never get up again.' Stresses permanent defeat from a single setback, stronger than just 失败.

idiom
to be unable to recover after a single setbackto collapse after one failure

Examples

  • ，一蹶不振，。
    Nà cì shēng yì shī bài hòu, tā jiù yī jué bù zhèn, zài yě méi yǒu chuàng yè.
    After that business failure, he was never able to recover and never started a new venture.
  • 一蹶不振。
    Zhēn zhèng de qiáng zhě bú huì yīn wèi yí cì dǎ jī jiù yī jué bù zhèn.
    A truly strong person won't collapse after a single blow.
  • ，一蹶不振。
    Yù dào cuò zhé shí yào jiān chí xià qù, qiān wàn bù néng yī jué bù zhèn.
    When encountering setbacks, you must persevere and absolutely not be unable to recover.

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 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 蹶 →

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
手手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
辰
辰chén振zhèn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

振 pairs 手 (hand) with 辰: 手 shows it is about a hand action, and 辰 gives the sound.

Open 振 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesSuccess & Failure

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