like rowing a boat upstream, if you stop moving forward you fall back (idiom)
trad. 逆水行舟，不進則退
Also written 逆水行舟，不進則退【nì shuǐ xíng zhōu , bù jìn zé tuì】
Characters in this word
8逆
Strokes: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0
contrary, opposite, backwards, to go against, to oppose, to betray, to rebel
- Pinyin
- nì
- Strokes
- 9
- Frequency
- 28410 of 2500
水
Strokes: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0
surname Shui, Shui ethnic group
- Pinyin
- Shuǐ
- Strokes
- 4
- Frequency
- 807 of 2500
行
Strokes: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0
(bound form) row; line, (bound form) line of business; trade; profession, (bound form) commercial firm, (bound form) to rank (first, second etc) among one's siblings (by age), (in data tables) row; (Tw) column, classifier for rows or lines
- Pinyin
- háng
- Strokes
- 6
- Frequency
- 379 of 2500
舟
Strokes: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0
boat
- Pinyin
- zhōu
- Strokes
- 6
- Frequency
- 33083 of 2500
不
Strokes: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0
no; not so, (bound form) not; un-
- Pinyin
- bù
- Strokes
- 4
- Frequency
- 9 of 2500
进
Strokes: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0
to go forward, to advance, to go in, to enter, to put in, to submit, to take in, to admit, (math.) base of a number system, classifier for sections in a building or residential compound
- Pinyin
- jìn
- Traditional
- 進
- Strokes
- 7
- Frequency
- 680 of 2500
则
Strokes: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0
(literary) (conjunction used to express contrast with a previous clause) but; then, (bound form) standard; norm, (bound form) principle, (literary) to imitate; to follow, classifier for written items
- Pinyin
- zé
- Traditional
- 則
- Strokes
- 6
- Frequency
- 2398 of 2500
退
Strokes: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0
to retreat; to withdraw, to reject; to return (sth), to decline
- Pinyin
- tuì
- Strokes
- 9
- Frequency
- 3835 of 2500