一蹶不振
yī jué bù zhèn
never to recover after a setback
Character by character
一yī
one
one
蹶jué
stumble
stumble
不bù
not
not
振zhèn
rise
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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