有意栽花花不发，无心插柳柳成阴
yǒu yì zāi huā huā bù fā , wú xīn chā liǔ liǔ chéng yīn
Pinyin

Definition

有意栽花花不发，无心插柳柳成阴
 - 
yǒu yì zāi huā huā bù fā , wú xīn chā liǔ liǔ chéng yīn
  1. lit. you plant a garden and the flowers do not bloom, you poke a stick in the mud and it grows into a tree
  2. fig. things do not always turn out as one would expect
  3. well-laid plans may fail, and success may come where you least expect it

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

不
bù
  1. 1 (negative prefix)
  2. 2 not
  3. 3 no
心
xīn
  1. 1 heart
  2. 2 mind
  3. 3 intention
  4. 4 center
  5. 5 core
  6. 6 CL:顆|颗[kē],個|个[gè]
心情
xīn qíng
  1. 1 mood
  2. 2 frame of mind
  3. 3 CL:個|个[gè]
成就
chéng jiù
  1. 1 accomplishment
  2. 2 success
  3. 3 achievement
  4. 4 CL:個|个[gè]
  5. 5 to achieve (a result)
  6. 6 to create
  7. 7 to bring about
有
yǒu
  1. 1 to have
  2. 2 there is
  3. 3 there are
  4. 4 to exist
  5. 5 to be
没有
méi yǒu
  1. 1 haven't
  2. 2 hasn't
  3. 3 doesn't exist
  4. 4 to not have
  5. 5 to not be
开心
kāi xīn
  1. 1 to feel happy
  2. 2 to rejoice
  3. 3 to have a great time
  4. 4 to make fun of sb
一心
yī xīn
  1. 1 wholeheartedly
  2. 2 heart and soul
一心一意
yī xīn yī yì
  1. 1 concentrating one's thoughts and efforts
  2. 2 single-minded
  3. 3 bent on
  4. 4 intently
一无所有
yī wú suǒ yǒu
  1. 1 not having anything at all (idiom); utterly lacking
  2. 2 without two sticks to rub together
不久
bù jiǔ
  1. 1 not long (after)
  2. 2 before too long
  3. 3 soon
  4. 4 soon after
不亦乐乎
bù yì lè hū
  1. 1 lit. isn't that a joy? (quote from Confucius)
  2. 2 fig. (jocularly) extremely
  3. 3 awfully
不但
bù dàn
  1. 1 not only (... but also...)
不仅
bù jǐn
  1. 1 not only (this one)
  2. 2 not just (...) but also
不利
bù lì
  1. 1 unfavorable
  2. 2 disadvantageous
  3. 3 harmful
  4. 4 detrimental
不到
bù dào
  1. 1 not to arrive
  2. 2 not reaching
  3. 3 insufficient
  4. 4 less than
不同
bù tóng
  1. 1 different
  2. 2 distinct
  3. 3 not the same
  4. 4 not alike
不堪
bù kān
  1. 1 cannot bear
  2. 2 cannot stand
  3. 3 utterly
  4. 4 extremely
不如
bù rú
  1. 1 not equal to
  2. 2 not as good as
  3. 3 inferior to
  4. 4 it would be better to
不妨
bù fáng
  1. 1 there is no harm in
  2. 2 might as well

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
一人得道，鸡犬升天
yī rén dé dào , jī quǎn shēng tiān
  1. 1 lit. when a man achieves the Dao, his poultry and dogs rise to Heaven (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to ride on sb else's success
  3. 3 Once one man gets a government position, all his cronies get in too
  4. 4 Once sb has cracked the problem, every Tom, Dick and Harry can do it
一个天南，一个地北
yī ge tiān nán , yī ge dì běi
  1. 1 to live miles apart (idiom)
一传十，十传百
yī chuán shí , shí chuán bǎi
  1. 1 news pass quickly from mouth to mouth (idiom)
  2. 2 an infectious disease spreads quickly (old meaning)
一则以喜，一则以忧
yī zé yǐ xǐ , yī zé yǐ yōu
  1. 1 happy on the one hand, but worried on the other (idiom)
一问三不知
yī wèn sān bù zhī
  1. 1 lit. to reply "don't know" whatever the question (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. absolutely no idea of what's going on
  3. 3 complete ignorance
一尘不染
yī chén bù rǎn
  1. 1 untainted by even a speck of dust (idiom); selfless and incorruptible
  2. 2 spotless
一夫当关，万夫莫开
yī fū dāng guān , wàn fū mò kāi
  1. 1 one man can hold the pass against ten thousand enemies (idiom)
一失足成千古恨
yī shī zú chéng qiān gǔ hèn
  1. 1 a single slip may cause everlasting sorrow (idiom)
一字不提
yī zì bù tí
  1. 1 to not mention a single word (about sth) (idiom)
一寸光阴一寸金，寸金难买寸光阴
yī cùn guāng yīn yī cùn jīn , cùn jīn nán mǎi cùn guāng yīn
  1. 1 lit. An interval of time is worth an ounce of gold, money cannot buy you time. (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. Time is precious and must be treasured.
一山不容二虎
yī shān bù róng èr hǔ
  1. 1 lit. the mountain can't have two tigers (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. this town ain't big enough for the two of us
  3. 3 (of two rivals) to be fiercely competitive
一心一德
yī xīn yī dé
  1. 1 of one heart and one mind (idiom)
一心二用
yī xīn èr yòng
  1. 1 to do two things at once (idiom)
  2. 2 to multitask
  3. 3 to divide one's attention
一意孤行
yī yì gū xíng
  1. 1 obstinately clinging to one's course (idiom)
  2. 2 willful
  3. 3 one's own way
  4. 4 dogmatic
一成不变
yī chéng bù biàn
  1. 1 nothing much changes (idiom); always the same
  2. 2 stuck in a rut
一手交钱，一手交货
yī shǒu jiāo qián , yī shǒu jiāo huò
  1. 1 lit. one hand exchanges the cash, the other the goods (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to pay for what you want in cash
  3. 3 simple and direct transaction
一文不值
yī wén bù zhí
  1. 1 worthless (idiom)
  2. 2 no use whatsoever
一日不见，如隔三秋
yī rì bù jiàn , rú gé sān qiū
  1. 1 one day apart seems like three years (idiom)
一日为师，终身为父
yī rì wéi shī , zhōng shēn wéi fù
  1. 1 lit. teacher for one day, father for ever (idiom)

Sample Sentences