一去不復返

Chinese

 
one; single; a
one; single; a; (before verbs) as soon as, once; (before a noun) entire (family, etc.)
to go; to leave; to remove not; no to return; to come back
trad. (一去不復返) 一 去 不 復返
simp. (一去不复返) 一 去 不 复返

Etymology

From the following song attributed to Jing Ke in 《史記·刺客列傳》 (Records of the Grand Historian: Biographies of Assassins).

風蕭蕭兮易水寒,壯士一去兮不復還! [Classical Chinese, trad.]
风萧萧兮易水寒,壮士一去兮不复还! [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE
Fēng xiāoxiāo xī Yìshuǐ hán, zhuàngshì yī qù xī bù fùhuán! [Pinyin]
Bleakly and weakly the wind blows; cold the Yi river flows. The valiant man, once gone, never comes back.

Pronunciation


Idiom

一去不復返

  1. gone forever; gone never to return

Synonyms

Descendants

  • → Vietnamese: một đi không trở lại (calque)
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