有意栽花花不发，无心插柳柳成阴 (有意栽花花不發，無心插柳柳成陰)
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 (有意栽花花不發，無心插柳柳成陰)
 - 
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 classifier: 颗 kē
  7. 7 classifier: 个 gè
心情
xīn qíng
  1. 1 mood
  2. 2 frame of mind
  3. 3 classifier: 个 gè
成就
chéng jiù
  1. 1 accomplishment
  2. 2 success
  3. 3 achievement
  4. 4 classifier: 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

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)