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万劫不复 (wàn jié bú fù) — beyond redemption; irredeemable; doomed forever

Definition

Literary idiom meaning 'beyond redemption forever' — 万劫 (ten thousand kalpas) emphasizes the endless, irreversible depth of ruin. Used in writing to describe something (a person, situation, or outcome) utterly doomed with no possibility of recovery.

idiom
beyond redemptionirredeemabledoomed forever

Examples

  • ，万劫不复。
    Rú guǒ jì xù zhè yàng xià qù, zhè ge qǐ yè jiāng wàn jié bú fù.
    If this continues, the company will be beyond redemption.
  • 万劫不复，。
    Nà ge zuì fàn yǐ jīng wàn jié bú fù, wú fǎ gǎi guò zì xīn le.
    That criminal is already beyond redemption and cannot reform.
  • ，万劫不复。
    Tā yīn tān wū shòu huì, zuì zhōng luò rù wàn jié bú fù de xià chǎng.
    Because of his corruption and bribery, he ultimately met an irredeemable fate.

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.

万劫countless kalpas
万wànten thousand劫jiékalpa
偏正Modifier + head
不复not return
不bùnot复fùreturn
偏正Modifier + head

万劫 “countless kalpas” and 不复 “not return” say vast ages pass with no return.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 萬; 万 is its simplified writing.

For 万, the form 萬 was originally a picture of a scorpion, later borrowed for its sound to write 'ten thousand'; the scorpion picture is unrelated to that number.

Open 万 →

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
力力lìpower, force
Sound part声符shēngfú
去
去qù劫jié
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

劫 pairs 去, which gives the sound, with 力, meaning power or force.

Open 劫 →

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 復; 复 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 复 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (复习, 恢复) it is 復; in others (复印, 复杂) (答复, 反复) it is 複 or 覆.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
彳彳chìwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
复
复fù復fù
Same sound today

The traditional form 復 combines 彳, a walking part, with 复, a sound part, to show walking back and forth.

Open 复 →
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Idioms & Set Phrases

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