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前功盡棄

简前功尽弃 · 繁前功盡棄

Mandarin · pinyin qián gōng jìn qì

to waste all one's previous efforts (idiom)
all that has been achieved goes down the drain

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Characters in this entry

前: qián · in front, forward; preceding
功: gōng · achievement, merit, good result
盡: Look up this written character
棄: Look up this written character
尽: jǐn · exhaust, use up; deplete
弃: qì · reject, abandon, discard

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–1–4–4 · qian2 gong1 jin4 qi4

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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.

前功盡棄 · find source passages ↗ · 前功尽弃 · find source passages ↗

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

cin4 gung1 zeon6 hei3

Cantonese word readings for 前功盡棄. 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) all previous achievements go down the drain; all the previous effort is wasted

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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