不孚众望

不孚眾望

bùfú-zhòngwàng

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

HSK 4

如果产品不孚众望，公司就会失去市场。

Rúguǒ chǎnpǐn bùfú-zhòngwàng, gōngsī jiù huì shīqù shìchǎng.

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

HSK 7-9

新经理不孚众望，业绩持续下滑。

Xīn jīnglǐ bùfú-zhòngwàng, yèjì chíxù xiàhuá.

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

HSK 7-9

这位候选人不孚众望，落选并不意外。

Zhè wèi hòuxuǎnrén bùfú-zhòngwàng, luòxuǎn bìngbù yìwài.

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

Tips

mistakes

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

history

孚 means 'to inspire trust,' found in the 《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