万无一失

萬無一失

wànwú-yīshī

idiom HSK 7-9 #12,479

Meanings

1 absolutely safe; foolproof
2 surefire; cannot possibly go wrong

Characters

to lose; to fail

Literally 'ten thousand attempts, not one failure' — a success rate of 10,000 out of 10,000.

Examples

这个计划万无一失。

Zhège jìhuà wànwúyīshī.

This plan is foolproof.

我们要确保万无一失。

Wǒmen yào quèbǎo wànwúyīshī.

We must make sure nothing can go wrong.

世上没有万无一失的事。

Shìshàng méiyǒu wànwúyīshī de shì.

Nothing in the world is completely foolproof.

Tips

usage

万无一失 is often used with 确保 (quèbǎo, to ensure) — 确保万无一失 is a very common collocation meaning 'to make absolutely sure nothing goes wrong.' It's frequently used in military, business, and event planning contexts.

Stroke Order

万 wàn

无 wú

一 yī

失 shī