万无一失

萬無一失

wànwú-yīshī

idiom HSK 7 #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 wànwú-yīshī.

This plan is foolproof.

我们要确保万无一失。

Wǒmen yào quèbǎo wànwú-yīshī.

We must make sure nothing can go wrong.

世上没有万无一失的事。

Shì shàng méiyǒu wànwú-yīshī 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