过河拆桥

過河拆橋

guòhéchāiqiáo

idiom

Meanings

1 to tear down the bridge after crossing the river
2 to abandon a benefactor once no longer needed
3 ingratitude once the goal is achieved

Characters

Examples

别人帮了你，你不能过河拆桥。

Biérén bāng le nǐ, nǐ bù néng guò hé chāi qiáo.

Once someone helps you, you can't just burn the bridge behind you.

他成功之后就过河拆桥，把老朋友都甩了。

Tā chénggōng zhīhòu jiù guò hé chāi qiáo, bǎ lǎo péngyǒu dōu shuǎi le.

After he succeeded he kicked aside all his old friends who had helped him.

公司不能对老员工过河拆桥。

Gōngsī bù néng duì lǎo yuángōng guò hé chāi qiáo.

A company shouldn't cast aside its long-serving employees once they're no longer needed.

Tips

memory

Picture someone crossing a bridge to safety, then turning around and smashing the bridge so their rescuers can't follow. Pure ingratitude, captured in four characters.

Stroke Order

过 guò

河 hé

拆 chāi

桥 qiáo