化为乌有

化為烏有

huàwéi-wūyǒu

idiom #25,911

Meanings

1 to vanish into thin air
2 to come to nothing
3 to be reduced to naught

Characters

to transform; to change

to become; to be

crow; black; dark; nothing (classical)

to have; to exist

Examples

多年的努力在一场大火中化为乌有。

Duōnián de nǔlì zài yī chǎng dàhuǒ zhōng huàwéiwūyǒu.

Years of hard work vanished into thin air in a great fire.

他的计划因为资金不足而化为乌有。

Tā de jìhuà yīnwèi zījīn bùzú ér huàwéiwūyǒu.

His plans came to nothing due to insufficient funding.

Tips

memory

化 (transform) + 为 (become) + 乌有 (dark nothingness) — imagine something transforming into a black void. 乌有 is a classical term for nothingness, literally the dark absence of anything.

Stroke Order

化 huà

为 wéi

乌 wū

有 yǒu