烂泥扶不上墙

爛泥扶不上牆

lànnífúbushàngqiáng

idiom

Meanings

1 mud that can't be propped up against a wall - useless; hopeless; beyond help
2 (of a person) too inept to be made into anything

Characters

to prop up; support

(negation; potential complement)

Examples

HSK 3

我教了他这么久，真是烂泥扶不上墙。

Wǒ jiāo le tā zhème jiǔ, zhēnshi lànnífúbushàngqiáng.

I've taught him for so long, he really is beyond help.

HSK 5

这孩子烂泥扶不上墙，怎么劝都不学好。

Zhè háizi lànnífúbushàngqiáng, zěnme quàn dōu bù xué hǎo.

This kid is hopeless, no amount of advice gets him to shape up.

Tips

usage

A 俗语 (common saying), not a formal four-character chengyu. Strongly insulting, used by frustrated teachers, parents, or bosses about someone who cannot be improved no matter how much support they're given. The image: trying to plaster wet mud onto a wall, it just slides off.

register

Colloquial and harsh. Don't use it lightly to or about people you respect. Compare with 朽木不可雕 ('rotten wood cannot be carved'), same meaning, more literary.

Stroke Order

烂 làn

泥 ní

扶 fú

不 bù

上 shàng

墙 qiáng