開弓沒有回頭箭
简 开弓没有回头箭 · 繁 開弓沒有回頭箭Meanings
- lit. once you've shot the arrow, there's no getting it back (idiom)
- fig. once you started sth, there's no turning back
- to have to finish what one started
- to be determined to reach one's goals in spite of setbacks
Characters in this entry
- 開
- kāi · open; initiate, begin, start
- 弓
- gōng · bow; curved, arched; Kangxi radical 57
- 沒
- méi · not, have not, none; to drown, sink
- 有
- yǒu · have, own, possess; exist
- 回
- huí · return, turn around; a time
- 頭
- tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
- 箭
- jiàn · arrow; type of bamboo
- 开
- kāi · open; initiate, begin, start
- 没
- méi · not, have not, none; drown, sink
- 头
- tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
1–1–2–3–2–2–4 · kai1 gong1 mei2 you3 hui2 tou2 jian4
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
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.
開弓沒有回頭箭 · find source passages ↗ · 开弓没有回头箭 · find source passages ↗
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
hoi1 gung1 mut6 jau5 wui4 tau4 zin3
Cantonese word readings for 開弓沒有回頭箭. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
proverb
- there's no turning back after you make an important decision
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack