有意栽花花不活
yǒu​yì​zāi​huā​huā​bù​huó

carefully planted flowers do not bloom

  • created sense approved 有意栽花花不活 · yǒu​yì​zāi​huā​huā​bù​huó · carefully planted flowers do not bloom — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    有意栽花花不活

    yǒu​yì​zāi​huā​huā​bù​huó

    carefully planted flowers do not bloom

    to fail in an endeavor despite putting in great effort or deliberation; the first half of a common proverb about the irony of effort versus outcome

    有意 (literal) → 有意 · yǒu​yì · to intend 栽花 (literal) → 栽花 · zāi​huā · to grow flowers 花 (literal) → 花 · huā · flower 不 (literal) → 不 · bù · not 活 (literal) → 活 · huó · alive

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense