尽如人意

盡如人意

jìnrú-rényì

idiom #16,536

Meanings

1 to be entirely as one wishes
2 perfectly satisfactory

Characters

completely; entirely

wish; intention

Examples

事情不可能尽如人意。

Shìqíng bù kěnéng jìnrú-rényì.

Things can't always be exactly as we wish.

虽然结果不尽如人意，但我们尽力了。

Suīrán jiéguǒ bù jìnrú-rényì, dàn wǒmen jìnlì le.

Although the result wasn't entirely satisfactory, we did our best.

Tips

usage

Almost always used in the negative: 不尽如人意 (not entirely satisfactory). Using it positively is rare and usually implies surprise that something went perfectly.

grammar

尽 here reads jìn (4th tone), meaning 'completely/entirely,' not jǐn (3rd tone, 'to the greatest extent').

Stroke Order

尽 jìn

如 rú

人 rén

意 yì