覆水難收

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See also: 覆水难收

Chinese

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to cover; to overflow; to reply to a letter
to cover; to overflow; to reply to a letter; to overturn; to capsize
 
water; river
disaster; distress; to scold
disaster; distress; to scold; difficult (to...); problem; difficulty; difficult; not good
 
to receive; to accept; to collect
to receive; to accept; to collect; in care of (used on address line after name)
 
trad. (覆水難收)
simp. (覆水难收)
Literally: “It is difficult to retrieve water after (its container) has been knocked over”.

Etymology

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First attested in the Book of the Later Han.

Pronunciation

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Idiom

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覆水難收

  1. there's no point crying over spilt milk