不进则退

不進則退

bùjìn-zétuì

idiom #60,008

Meanings

1 if you don't advance, you fall back
2 standing still means regressing

Characters

then (classical)

Examples

HSK 2

不进则退的道理，谁都明白。

Bújìnzétuì de dàoli, shéi dōu míngbai.

Everyone understands the principle that not advancing means retreating.

HSK 4

在这个行业里，不进则退。

Zài zhège hángyè lǐ, bújìnzétuì.

In this industry, if you're not advancing, you're falling behind.

HSK 7-9

学习如逆水行舟，不进则退。

Xuéxí rú nìshuǐxíngzhōu, bújìnzétuì.

Learning is like rowing upstream - if you don't press forward, you drift back.

Tips

history

Attested in the pre-Qin philosophical fragment 《邓析子·无厚篇》: 不进则退，不喜则忧，不得则亡 - a Warring States-era Legalist meditation on the binary of motion. The parallel 逆水行舟，不进则退 ('rowing upstream, no advance means retreat') made it into every modern classroom.

grammar

The 则 is a classical conditional: 'if... then...' Pattern: 不A则B = 'if not A, then B.' Other familiar examples: 不破不立 (without destroying, nothing is built), 不鸣则已 (if silent, then silent).

Stroke Order

不 bù

进 jìn

则 zé

退 tuì