一事无成
yī shì wú chéng
Pinyin

Definition

一事无成
 - 
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 CL:件[jiàn],樁|桩[zhuāng],回[huí]
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
第一
dì yī
  1. 1 first
  2. 2 number one
  3. 3 primary
一一
yī yī
  1. 1 one by one
  2. 2 one after another
一下子
yī xià zi
  1. 1 in a short while
  2. 2 all at once
  3. 3 all of a sudden
一些
yī xiē
  1. 1 some
  2. 2 a few
  3. 3 a little
  4. 4 (following an adjective) slightly ...er
一共
yī gòng
  1. 1 altogether
一再
yī zài
  1. 1 repeatedly
一切
yī qiè
  1. 1 everything
  2. 2 every
  3. 3 all
一半
yī bàn
  1. 1 half
一口气
yī kǒu qì
  1. 1 one breath
  2. 2 in one breath
  3. 3 at a stretch
一同
yī tóng
  1. 1 along
  2. 2 together
一味
yī wèi
  1. 1 blindly
  2. 2 invariably
一呼百应
yī hū bǎi yìng
  1. 1 a hundred answers to a single call (idiom)
  2. 2 to respond en masse
一塌糊涂
yī tā hú tu
  1. 1 muddled and completely collapsing (idiom); in an awful condition
  2. 2 complete shambles
  3. 3 a total mess
一大早
yī dà zǎo
  1. 1 at dawn
  2. 2 at first light
  3. 3 first thing in the morning

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
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)
一个萝卜一个坑
yī gè luó bo yī gè kēng
  1. 1 lit. every turnip to its hole (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. each person has his own position
  3. 3 each to his own
  4. 4 horses for courses
  5. 5 every kettle has its lid
一倡三叹
yī chàng sān tàn
  1. 1 (of literature, music) deeply moving (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)
一元复始
yī yuán fù shǐ
  1. 1 a new year begins (idiom)
一刀两断
yī dāo liǎng duàn
  1. 1 lit. two segments with a single cut (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to make a clean break (idiom)
一刀切
yī dāo qiē
  1. 1 lit. to cut all at one stroke (idiom); to impose uniformity
  2. 2 one solution fits a diversity of problems
  3. 3 one size fits all
一分一毫
yī fēn yī háo
  1. 1 a tiny bit (idiom)
  2. 2 an iota
一分为二
yī fēn wéi èr
  1. 1 one divides into two
  2. 2 to be two-sided
  3. 3 there are two sides to everything
  4. 4 to see both sb's good points and shortcomings (idiom)
一切就绪
yī qiè jiù xù
  1. 1 everything in its place and ready (idiom)
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)
一反常态
yī fǎn cháng tài
  1. 1 complete change from the normal state (idiom); quite uncharacteristic
  2. 2 entirely outside the norm
  3. 3 out of character
一呼百应
yī hū bǎi yìng
  1. 1 a hundred answers to a single call (idiom)
  2. 2 to respond en masse
一呼百诺
yī hū bǎi nuò
  1. 1 one command brings a hundred responses (idiom); having hundreds of attendants at one's beck and call

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