顾此失彼
gù cǐ shī bǐ
Pinyin

Definition

顾此失彼
 - 
gù cǐ shī bǐ
  1. lit. to attend to one thing and lose sight of another (idiom)
  2. fig. to be unable to manage two or more things at once
  3. cannot pay attention to one thing without neglecting the other

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

shī qù
  1. 1 to lose
shī bài
  1. 1 to be defeated
  2. 2 to lose
  3. 3 to fail (e.g. experiments)
  4. 4 failure
  5. 5 defeat
  6. 6 CL:次[cì]
shī wàng
  1. 1 disappointed
  2. 2 to lose hope
  3. 3 to despair
shī mián
  1. 1 to suffer from insomnia
rú cǐ
  1. 1 in this way
  2. 2 so
bǐ cǐ
  1. 1 each other
  2. 2 one another
  1. 1 this
  2. 2 these
cǐ kè
  1. 1 this moment
  2. 2 now
  3. 3 at present
cǐ shí
  1. 1 now
  2. 2 this moment
xiāo shī
  1. 1 to disappear
  2. 2 to fade away
diū shī
  1. 1 to lose
  2. 2 lost
sàng shī
  1. 1 to lose
  2. 2 to forfeit
yīn cǐ
  1. 1 thus
  2. 2 consequently
  3. 3 as a result
shī
  1. 1 to lose
  2. 2 to miss
  3. 3 to fail
shī dì
  1. 1 to lose land
  2. 2 dispossessed
shī yì
  1. 1 disappointed
  2. 2 frustrated
shī liàn
  1. 1 to lose one's love
  2. 2 to break up (in a romantic relationship)
  3. 3 to feel jilted
shī kòng
  1. 1 to go out of control
shī bài zhě
  1. 1 loser
shī yè
  1. 1 unemployment
  2. 2 to lose one's job

Idioms (20)

一失足成千古恨
yī shī zú chéng qiān gǔ hèn
  1. 1 a single slip may cause everlasting sorrow (idiom)
不分彼此
bù fēn bǐ cǐ
  1. 1 to make no distinction between what's one's own and what's another's (idiom)
  2. 2 to share everything
  3. 3 to be on very intimate terms
人有失手,马有失蹄
rén yǒu shī shǒu , mǎ yǒu shī tí
  1. 1 lit. just as humans make mistakes, so can a horse stumble (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. everyone makes mistakes
  3. 3 even the best fall down sometimes
但愿如此
dàn yuàn rú cǐ
  1. 1 if only it were so
  2. 2 I hope so (idiom)
倘能如此
tǎng néng rú cǐ
  1. 1 if it is possible (idiom)
北叟失马
běi sǒu shī mǎ
  1. 1 lit. the old man lost his horse, but it all turned out for the best (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. a blessing in disguise
  3. 3 it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good
千虑一失
qiān lu:4 yī shī
  1. 1 reflect a thousand times and you can still make a mistake (idiom); to err is human
因小失大
yīn xiǎo shī dà
  1. 1 to save a little only to lose a lot (idiom)
坐失机宜
zuò shī jī yí
  1. 1 to sit and waste a good opportunity (idiom); to lose the chance
坐失良机
zuò shī liáng jī
  1. 1 to sit and waste a good opportunity (idiom); to lose the chance
城门失火,殃及池鱼
chéng mén shī huǒ , yāng jí chí yú
  1. 1 a fire in the city gates is also a calamity for the fish in the moat (idiom); the bystander will also suffer
  2. 2 fig. you can't escape responsibility for your actions
  3. 3 ask not for whom the bell tolls - it tolls for thee
塞翁失马
sài wēng shī mǎ
  1. 1 lit. the old man lost his horse, but it all turned out for the best (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. a blessing in disguise
  3. 3 it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good
塞翁失马安知非福
sài wēng shī mǎ ān zhī fēi fú
  1. 1 the old man lost his mare, but it all turned out for the best (idiom); fig. a blessing in disguise
  2. 2 it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good
  3. 3 also written 塞翁失馬焉知非福|塞翁失马焉知非福
塞翁失马焉知非福
sài wēng shī mǎ yān zhī fēi fú
  1. 1 the old man lost his mare, but it all turned out for the best (idiom); fig. a blessing in disguise
  2. 2 it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good
多此一举
duō cǐ yī jǔ
  1. 1 to do more than is required (idiom); superfluous
  2. 2 gilding the lily
大惊失色
dà jīng shī sè
  1. 1 to turn pale with fright (idiom)
天网恢恢,疏而不失
tiān wǎng huī huī , shū ér bù shī
  1. 1 lit. heaven's net has wide meshes, but nothing escapes it (idiom, from Laozi 73)
  2. 2 fig. the way of Heaven is fair, but the guilty will not escape
  3. 3 you can't run from the long arm of the law
失之东隅,收之桑榆
shī zhī dōng yú , shōu zhī sāng yú
  1. 1 to lose at sunrise but gain at sunset (idiom)
  2. 2 to compensate later for one's earlier loss
  3. 3 what you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts
失之毫厘,谬以千里
shī zhī háo lí , miù yǐ qiān lǐ
  1. 1 a tiny lapse can lead to a huge mistake (idiom); a minor discrepancy leading to enormous losses
失之毫厘,差之千里
shī zhī háo lí , chà zhī qiān lǐ
  1. 1 a tiny lapse can lead to a huge mistake (idiom); a minor discrepancy leading to enormous losses

Sample Sentences