How do you pronounce 功亏一篑?

功亏一篑 is pronounced as "gōng kuī yī kuì" in Mandarin Chinese.

功亏一篑

Q: What does 功亏一篑 mean?

功亏一篑 (gōng kuī yī kuì) literally means "Work fails one basket" and metaphorically means "Fail due to giving up near the end". It belongs to the Life Philosophy category of Chinese idioms.

Q: When is 功亏一篑 used?

功亏一篑 is used when The project collapsed due to a small oversight in the final stage.

功亏一篑 (gōng kuī yī kuì) literally means “work fails one basket” and expresses “fail due to giving up near the end”. This idiom is used when describing situations involving life philosophy.

Also searched as: gong kui yi kui, gong kui yi kui,功亏一篑 meaning, 功亏一篑 in english

Fail due to giving up near the end

Pronunciation: gōng kuī yī kuì Literal meaning: Work fails one basket

Origin & Usage

This one comes from the Book of Documents: 为山九仞，功亏一篑 — in raising a mound nine ren high, the work (功) fails (亏) for one basket (篑) of earth. Everything already carried counts for nothing if the last load is not. The image is deliberately cruel about proportion: the shortfall is trivial and the loss is total. Modern usage warns against abandoning something at the point where the remaining effort is smallest.

Examples

English: "The project collapsed due to a small oversight in the final stage"

Chinese: 这个项目因最后阶段的一个小疏忽而失败

Related Chinese Idioms

Similar idioms about life philosophy

昙花一现

tán huā yī xiàn

Brief, fleeting appearance

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一石二鸟

yī shí èr niǎo

Two goals with one action

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一言九鼎

yī yán jiǔ dǐng

Words carry great weight

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一丝不苟

yī sī bù gǒu

Extremely careful and thorough

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一叶障目

yī yè zhàng mù

Miss big picture

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一鼓作气

yī gǔ zuò qì

Complete in one effort

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一叶知秋

yī yè zhī qiū

Small signs show big picture

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一气呵成

yī qì hē chéng

Finished without a break in it

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does 功亏一篑 mean in English?

功亏一篑 (gōng kuī yī kuì) literally translates to “Work fails one basket” and is used to express “Fail due to giving up near the end”. This Chinese idiom belongs to the Life Philosophy category.