sail against the current; make progress or fall behind
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesidiom
sail against the current; cease moving forward and you will fall behind
literaryUsed primarily as a figurative proverb to encourage perseverance, especially in studying or career development.
Xué学
xí习
rú如
tóng同
nì逆
shuǐ水
xíng行
zhōu舟
，
bù不
jìn进
zé则
tuì退
。
Studying is like sailing against the current; if you don't advance, you will fall behind.
Shì市
chǎng场
jìng竞
zhēng争
jī激
liè烈
，
wǒ我
men们
bì必
xū须
yǒu有
nì逆
shuǐ水
xíng行
zhōu舟
de的
jué决
xīn心
。
Market competition is fierce; we must have the determination to sail against the current.
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Gǔ古
rén人
yún云
，
nì逆
shuǐ水
xíng行
zhōu舟
，
bù不
jìn进
zé则
tuì退
，
suǒ所
yǐ以
wǒ我
men们
bù不
néng能
tíng停
zhǐ止
nǔ努
lì力
。
As the ancients said, sailing against the current means no progress leads to regression, so we cannot stop striving.