付之东流 (fù zhī dōng liú) — (idiom) all one's efforts are wasted; to come t…

Definition

Literary idiom: efforts or work are lost, like water flowing east — never to return. More written and emphatic than the everyday phrase 浪费 or 功亏一篑.

idiom

all one's efforts are wastedto come to nothing

，付之东流，。
Tā xīn kǔ zhǔn bèi le bàn nián, zuì hòu què fù zhī dōng liú, fēi cháng shī wàng.
He prepared painstakingly for half a year, but in the end all his efforts were wasted; he was very disappointed.
，付之东流。
Yīn wèi yì chǎng dà huǒ, tā de suǒ yǒu xīn xuè dōu fù zhī dōng liú le.
Because of a big fire, all his hard work went down the drain.
，付之东流。
Rú guǒ bù jiān chí dào dǐ, zhī qián de yí qiè nǔ lì dōu huì fù zhī dōng liú.
If you don't persist to the end, all previous efforts will be wasted.

Characters in this word

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

付 pairs 亻 (person) with 又 (hand), showing a person handing something to someone.

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

The shape pairs 止, a foot, with 一, a beginning place, and means to go.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 東; 东 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 東 originally drew a full bag tied at both ends. The simplified 东 is a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

㐬

㐬㐬流liú

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

流 has 水, water, and 㐬, which gives the sound. The water part matches meanings such as flow.