一蹶不振

yījuébùzhèn

idiom #19,331

Meanings

1 to suffer a setback and never recover
2 unable to bounce back after a fall
3 to go downhill after a single failure

Characters

to stumble; to fall

to rise; to rally

Examples

他失业以后就一蹶不振了。

Tā shīyè yǐhòu jiù yījuébùzhèn le.

After losing his job, he never recovered.

公司经历了那次危机后一蹶不振。

Gōngsī jīnglì le nà cì wēijī hòu yījuébùzhèn.

The company went into irreversible decline after that crisis.

Tips

memory

蹶 means 'to stumble/fall,' 振 means 'to rise/rally.' One stumble and you can't rise again — a vivid image of total collapse from a single setback.

Stroke Order

一 yī

蹶 jué

不 bù

振 zhèn