Definition
水漂 literally refers to the act of skipping stones across water, or the stone itself. It is most commonly used in the fixed verb-object phrase 打水漂 (dǎ shuǐ piāo), which figuratively means 'to waste money or effort' — like throwing money into the water with no return. As a noun, 水漂 can stand alone in figurative contexts to mean 'a wasted investment' or 'something that goes down the drain'.
n
skipping stone (the action or the stone used to skip on water)(figurative) something that is wasted or goes down the drain
Examples
- 水漂。Tā zài hé biān dǎ shuǐ piāo.He is skipping stones by the river.
- 水漂。Zhè bǐ qián quán dōu dǎ le shuǐ piāo.All this money went down the drain.
- 水漂。Tā de nǔlì zuìhòu dōu chéng le shuǐ piāo.His efforts all came to nothing in the end.
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