不到黃河心不死
简 不到黄河心不死 · 繁 不到黃河心不死Meanings
- lit. not to stop until one reaches the Yellow River (idiom)
- fig. to persevere until one reaches one's goal
- to keep going while some hope is left
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Mandarin tones
4–4–2–2–1–4–3 · bu4 dao4 Huang2 He2 xin1 bu4 si3
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
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Read this spelling in Classical texts
Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.
不到黃河心不死 · find source passages ↗ · 不到黄河心不死 · find source passages ↗
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
bat1 dou3 wong4 ho4 sam1 bat1 sei2
Cantonese word readings for 不到黃河心不死. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
phrase
- (idiomatic) until all is over, ambition never dies; not stop until one reaches one's goal; not to give up hope until one comes to one's tether's end; not to stop until one reaches the Yellow river; refuse to give up until all hope is gone
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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