痛定思痛
tòng dìng sī tòng
when the pain has passed, to reflect on it and learn the lesson
Character by character
痛tòng
pain
pain
定dìng
settle
settle
思sī
reflect on
reflect on
痛tòng
pain
pain
Example
上一届比赛输得很惨，痛定思痛，球队换了教练，从青少年开始重新培养人才。
The team lost badly at the last tournament; having taken the lesson to heart, it changed coach and started bringing on talent again from the youth level.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
From 韩愈’s letter 与李翱书: a man whose pain has eased thinks back to how much it hurt. It usually opens a sentence and is followed by the decision or reform that came out of a failure or disaster: 痛定思痛，决定…
Learn this in Lesson 140 · HSK 7–9: 一罐奶粉 (A can of milk powder)
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.
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