破罐子破摔 (pò guàn zǐ pò shuāi) — to give up on oneself after a failure and act recklessly; to let things slide because they're already bad
Definition
Literally 'smash a cracked jar,' meaning once things have gone wrong, stop caring and act even worse. Often used as a caution: 'don't fall into this.'
idiom
to give up on oneself after a failure and act recklesslyto let things slide because they're already bad
Examples
- 破罐子破摔,。Tā kǎo shì bù jí gé hòu jiù kāi shǐ pò guàn zǐ pò shuāi, lián kè dōu bú shàng le.After failing the exam, he started acting recklessly and even stopped going to class.
- ,破罐子破摔,。Gōng sī chū le wèn tí, lǎo bǎn què pò guàn zǐ pò shuāi, shén me dōu bù guǎn le.The company had problems, but the boss just gave up and stopped managing anything.
- 破罐子破摔,。Nǐ bù néng yīn wèi yí cì shī bài jiù pò guàn zǐ pò shuāi, yào zhèn zuò qǐ lái.You can't just give up after one failure — you need to pull yourself together.
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.