CHENGYU
半途而废(bàn tú ér fèi)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- formal
- Source:
- 《礼记·中庸》
MEANING
- Literal
- to stop halfway and abandon the road
- Figurative meaning
- to give up halfway; to leave things unfinished
ORIGIN STORY
The Book of Rites praises the gentleman who follows the Way to the end, unlike those who abandon it midway.
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“to fall by the wayside”
EXAMPLES
坚持下去，不要半途而废。Jiānchí xiàqù, bù yào bàn tú ér fèi.HSK5
Keep going; do not give up halfway.
他学钢琴学了两年就半途而废了。Tā xué gāngqín xué le liǎng nián jiù bàn tú ér fèi le.HSK5
He gave up piano after two years, halfway through.
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: It always implies giving up — not pausing or changing direction wisely.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
Tap a character to explore it
TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-14
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01