mǎ​chǐ​tú​zhǎng

to age without achieving anything

  1. horse
    horse; any animal of the horse family; large mammal used for riding, pulling carts, or farm work
  2. age
    (bound form) age; the number of years a person has lived, as used in literary expressions like 年齿 nián​chǐ
  3. adjective
    in vain
    in vain; to no avail; for nothing; to be without result
  4. to grow
    to grow; to develop; to sprout; to grow to maturity