chuán​dào​jiāng​xīn​bǔ​lòu​chí

it is too late to plug the leak once the ship is in midstream

  1. boat
    boat; ship; vessel; craft
  2. 到 dào verbpreposition
    to arrive
    to arrive at a place; to reach a point in time; to reach a certain level or stage
  3. middle of a river
    the center or middle of a river
  4. , bǔ
    non-Chinese
  5. to patch a leak
    to mend a leak or crack in an object; (figuratively) to fill a vacancy, supply what is missing, or fix deficiencies in work
  6. 迟 遲 chí adjective
    late
    late; delayed; behind the scheduled or appropriate time