不负众望
bù fù zhòng wàng
to live up to everyone’s expectations
Character by character
不bù
not
not
负fù
let down
let down
众zhòng
everyone’s
everyone’s
望wàng
hopes
hopes
Example
他不负众望，在最后一分钟打进了制胜球。
He lived up to everyone’s hopes and scored the winner in the last minute.
Tone: positive (praise).
Usage and origin
负 here is “to let down”, as in 辜负. Often 果然不负众望. The opposite is 辜负了大家的期望 or 令人失望.
Learn this in Lesson 115 · HSK 7–9: 郑钦文巴黎夺金 (Sport: gold in Paris)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
Open the lesson →