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一事无成

一事无成

yī shì wú chéng

HSK 7–9

Meaning

to have achieved nothing
to be a total failure
to get nowhere

Definition

什么事情都没有做成功，形容一个人毫无成就，没有做出任何有意义或实质性的事。

To have achieved nothing; to be a complete failure; to have accomplished absolutely nothing of significance or substance.

Usage

“一事无成”是一个贬义词，常用来形容一个人在某段时间内或一生中没有取得任何实质性的成就，也可以指某人因为能力不足、懒惰、缺乏目标等原因，导致什么事情都没有做成功。它可以用来批评、自嘲或表达惋惜。

"一事无成" (yī shì wú chéng) is a derogatory term often used to describe someone who has not achieved any substantial success in a certain period or throughout their life. It can also refer to someone who has failed to accomplish anything due to incompetence, laziness, lack of goals, etc. It can be used for criticism, self-deprecation, or to express regret.

Examples

1 他年近四十，却依然一事无成，让父母很是担忧。(He is nearly forty, yet still hasn't achieved anything, making his parents very worried.)
2 如果你整天游手好闲，最终只会落得个一事无成的下场。(If you idle away your time all day, you will ultimately end up accomplishing nothing.)
3 经过多年的努力，他终于摆脱了一事无成的困境，事业上取得了突破。(After years of hard work, he finally escaped the predicament of achieving nothing and made breakthroughs in his career.)
4 我担心自己会碌碌无为，一事无成，所以决定要更加努力。(I'm worried that I might achieve nothing and live a mediocre life, so I decided to work harder.)
5 他回顾自己的一生，觉得自己一事无成，心中充满了悔恨。(He looked back on his life and felt that he had accomplished nothing, his heart filled with regret.)

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