付诸东流

付諸東流

fùzhū-dōngliú

idiom #28,785

Meanings

1 to go down the drain
2 to come to nothing
3 wasted effort (lit. cast into the eastward flow)

Characters

to hand over; to pay

to; all; (classical preposition)

to flow; current

Examples

多年的努力付诸东流，他感到非常失落。

Duōnián de nǔlì fùzhūdōngliú, tā gǎndào fēicháng shīluò.

Years of effort went down the drain; he felt deeply disappointed.

如果不好好执行计划，所有投资都会付诸东流。

Rúguǒ bùhǎo hǎo zhíxíng jìhuà, suǒyǒu tóuzī dōuhuì fùzhūdōngliú.

If the plan is not carried out properly, all investment will be wasted.

Tips

memory

Picture throwing something into a river flowing east — in China's geography, rivers generally flow east to the sea. Once thrown in, it's gone forever. 付 (give up) + 诸 (to) + 东流 (eastward current) = lost forever downstream.

Stroke Order

付 fù

诸 zhū

东 dōng

流 liú