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一蹶不振

yī jué bù zhèn

never to recover after a setback

Character by character

一yī
one
蹶jué
stumble
不bù
not
振zhèn
rise

Example

失恋以后,他一蹶不振,整天待在家里。
After the break-up he fell apart and now stays home all day.

Tone: negative (criticism).

Usage and origin

One fall and someone never gets back up.

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