不孚众望

不孚眾望

bùfúzhòngwàng

idiom

Meanings

1 to fail to live up to expectations
2 to fall short of public confidence

Characters

to inspire trust

the masses; many

expectation; hope

Examples

新经理不孚众望，业绩持续下滑。

Xīn jīnglǐ bùfúzhòngwàng, yèjì chíxù xiàhuá.

The new manager failed to live up to expectations and performance kept declining.

这位候选人不孚众望，落选并不意外。

Zhè wèi hòuxuǎnrén bùfúzhòngwàng, luòxuǎn bìng bù yìwài.

This candidate failed to inspire confidence — losing was no surprise.

如果产品不孚众望，公司就会失去市场。

Rúguǒ chǎnpǐn bùfúzhòngwàng, gōngsī jiù huì shīqù shìchǎng.

If the product fails to live up to expectations, the company will lose market share.

Tips

mistakes

Often confused with 不负众望 (bùfùzhòngwàng), which means the OPPOSITE: 'lived up to expectations.' Mnemonic: 孚 (fú) = inspire trust; 不孚 = fails to inspire; 负 (fù) = bear/shoulder; 不负 = doesn't disappoint.

history

孚 means 'to inspire trust' — found in 《诗经·大雅》 phrase 万邦作孚 ('all states find him trustworthy'). 不孚 = 'doesn't earn the trust of' the 众望 (public expectations).

Stroke Order

不 bù

孚 fú

众 zhòng

望 wàng