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功亏一篑 (gōng kuī yī kuì) — to fall short of success for lack of a final effort; to fail at the last stretch

Definition

Literally 'one basket of earth short of completing the mound' — describes failure right before the finish, when the final push was missing. Often used to warn against giving up at the last hurdle.

idiom
to fall short of success for lack of a final effortto fail at the last stretch

Examples

  • ，功亏一篑。
    Tā kǎo shì zhī chà yì fēn jiù jí gé le, zhēn shì gōng kuī yī kuì.
    He was just one point away from passing the exam — truly a case of falling short at the last step.
  • ，，功亏一篑。
    Xiàng mù jìn zhǎn shùn lì, dàn zuì hòu yì bǐ zī jīn méi dào wèi, zuì zhōng gōng kuī yī kuì.
    The project was going smoothly, but the last tranche of funding never came through, so it ultimately collapsed right before completion.
  • ，功亏一篑。
    Nǐ yào jiān chí dào zuì hòu, bié yīn wèi yì diǎn kùn nan jiù gōng kuī yī kuì.
    You need to hold out until the end — don't give up at the last hurdle just because of a small difficulty.

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
力力lìstrength
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng功gōng
Same sound today

功 puts 力 (strength) beside 工, which gives the sound gōng and means labour or work.

Open 功 →

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 虧; 亏 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亏亏kuīexhale
Sound part声符shēngfú
雐
雐hū虧kuī
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 虧 pairs 雐, a sound part, with 亏, a part meaning exhale. The simplified 亏 is a later abbreviation.

Open 亏 →

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 簣; 篑 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
竹竹zhúbamboo
Sound part声符shēngfú
貴
貴guì簣kuì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 簣 pairs 竹 (bamboo) with 貴 to give the sound. The simplified 篑 is a later shorthand.

Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesSuccess & Failure

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