功亏一篑

功虧一簣

gōngkuī-yīkuì

idiom #27,325

Meanings

1 to fail through lack of a final effort
2 to fall short of success for want of one last effort
3 so near and yet so far

Characters

achievement; effort; merit

to fall short; to be deficient; to lose

bamboo basket for carrying earth

Examples

HSK 4

项目差一点就完成了，结果功亏一篑。

Xiàngmù chàyīdiǎn jiù wánchéng le, jiéguǒ gōngkuī-yīkuì.

The project was almost finished, but in the end fell short by just a bit.

HSK 5

比赛最后一秒他失误，真是功亏一篑。

Bǐsài zuìhòu yī miǎo tā shīwù, zhēnshì gōngkuī-yīkuì.

He made an error in the last second of the match - truly falling short for want of one last effort.

Tips

history

From the Book of Documents (尚书): building a nine-ren-tall mound (仞 is a unit of height), if you stop when placing the final basket of earth (一篑), all the prior work is lost. 篑 is a bamboo basket for carrying soil.

Stroke Order

功 gōng

亏 kuī

一 yī

篑 kuì