一锤子买卖

一錘子買賣

yīchuízimǎimài

idiom

Meanings

1 a one-off deal
2 a one-shot transaction (with no concern for repeat business)
3 a short-sighted, no-follow-up deal

Characters

Examples

做生意不能只想着一锤子买卖。

Zuò shēngyi bùnéng zhǐ xiǎngzhe yī chuízi mǎimài.

You can't run a business thinking only of one-off deals.

这家店服务太差，明显是一锤子买卖。

Zhè jiā diàn fúwù tài chà, míngxiǎn shì yī chuízi mǎimài.

This shop's service is terrible — clearly they only care about a one-shot sale.

合作要看长远，不是一锤子买卖。

Hézuò yào kàn chángyuǎn, bùshì yī chuízi mǎimài.

Cooperation takes a long view — it isn't a one-off transaction.

Tips

culture

The image is a street peddler slamming a hammer on the auction block: deal closed, goodbye, never see the customer again. Strongly negative in a business-ethics context.

memory

锤子 = hammer. One hammer strike = one deal done, no repeat.

Stroke Order

一 yī

锤 chuí

子 zǐ

买 mǎi

卖 mài