一事无成 (一事無成)
yī shì wú chéng
Pinyin

Definition

一事无成 (一事無成)
 - 
yī shì wú chéng
  1. to have achieved nothing
  2. to be a total failure
  3. to get nowhere

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

一
yī
  1. 1 one
  2. 2 1
  3. 3 single
  4. 4 a (article)
  5. 5 as soon as
  6. 6 entire
  7. 7 whole
  8. 8 all
  9. 9 throughout
  10. 10 "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1)
  11. 11 also pr. [yāo] for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit
一下
yī xià
  1. 1 (used after a verb) give it a go
  2. 2 to do (sth for a bit to give it a try)
  3. 3 one time
  4. 4 once
  5. 5 in a while
  6. 6 all of a sudden
  7. 7 all at once
一样
yī yàng
  1. 1 same
  2. 2 like
  3. 3 equal to
  4. 4 the same as
  5. 5 just like
一起
yī qǐ
  1. 1 in the same place
  2. 2 together
  3. 3 with
  4. 4 altogether (in total)
事
shì
  1. 1 matter
  2. 2 thing
  3. 3 item
  4. 4 work
  5. 5 affair
  6. 6 classifier: 件 jiàn
  7. 7 classifier: 桩 zhuāng
  8. 8 classifier: 回 huí

Idioms (20)

一不做，二不休
yī bù zuò , èr bù xiū
  1. 1 don't do it, or don't rest (idiom); either give up, or go through to the end
  2. 2 Since we started, we must carry it through whatever happens.
  3. 3 in for a penny, in for a pound
一丘之貉
yī qiū zhī hé
  1. 1 jackals of the same tribe (idiom); fig. They are all just as bad as each other.
一之为甚
yī zhī wéi shèn
  1. 1 once is more than enough (idiom)
一干二净
yī gān èr jìng
  1. 1 thoroughly (idiom)
  2. 2 completely
  3. 3 one and all
  4. 4 very clean
一五一十
yī wǔ yī shí
  1. 1 lit. count by fives and tens (idiom); to narrate systematically and in full detail

Sample Sentences

一事无成
yīshìwúchéng
To have accomplished nothing.
Go to Lesson 
你一事无成，你都三十岁了。
nǐ yīshìwúchéng ，nǐ dōu sānshí suì le 。
You're 30 years old and still haven't accomplished anything.
Go to Lesson 
呵呵，那我再讲一个小故事吧。有一个青年人毕业后豪情万丈，给自己定了很多目标，但到最后却一事无成。他非常苦恼地去找一位禅师，寻求答案。
hēhē ，nà wǒ zài jiǎng yī gè xiǎo gùshi ba 。yǒu yī gè qīngniánrén bìyè hòu háoqíngwànzhàng ，gěi zìjǐ dìng le hěn duō mùbiāo ，dàn dào zuìhòu què yīshìwúchéng 。tā fēicháng kǔnǎo de qù zhǎo yī wèi chánshī ，xúnqiú dá àn 。
Heh-heh. Let me tell you another one. Once, there was a young man who had just graduated and was full of ambition. He had many goals, but in the end he hadn't completed any of them. He was vexed and looked to a Chan master for answers.
Go to Lesson 
成龙还是成虫还不一定呢，到最后一事无成也有可能。
chéng lóng háishì chéng chóng hái bù yīdìng ne ，dào zuìhòu yīshìwúchéng yě yǒu kěnéng 。
Whether that future will be bright or dismal, you still can't be certain. Maybe in the end, it will all have been for nothing.
Go to Lesson