靡不有初，鮮克有終
mǐ​bù​yǒu​chū​xiǎn​kè​yǒu​zhōng

all have a beginning, but few have an end

  • created sense approved 靡不有初，鲜克有终/靡不有初，鮮克有終 · mǐ​bù​yǒu​chū​xiǎn​kè​yǒu​zhōng · all have a beginning, but few have an end — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    靡不有初，鲜克有终 / 靡不有初，鮮克有終

    mǐ​bù​yǒu​chū​xiǎn​kè​yǒu​zhōng

    all have a beginning, but few have an end

    Originally meaning that most things start out well but few are carried through to completion, this idiom is used as a warning to be steadfast and finish what one has started.

    靡 (literal) → 靡 · mǐ · no 不 (literal) → 不 · bù · not 有 (literal) → 有 · yǒu · there is 初 (literal) → 初 · chū · beginning ， (non_chinese) 鲜 (literal) → 鲜/鮮 · xiǎn · rare 克 (literal) → 克 · kè · to be able to 有 (literal) → 有 · yǒu · there is 终 (literal) → 终/終 · zhōng · end

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

    created sense