







不见棺材不落泪 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be stubbornly unwilling to face reality or change one's ways until one is confronted with undeniable, severe consequences; to not give up or acknowledge defeat until absolute failure is imminent”. Literally, “Not shed tears until seeing the coffin”.
Ancient scholar An Hongjian was known for his humor and wit, but he was terribly afraid of his wife.
When his father-in-law passed away, he and his wife set off to offer their condolences. On the way, they both began to weep loudly. His wife, a very strict person, found it strange that her husband was crying without shedding any tears.
When she asked why, An Hongjian replied that he had wiped them away with a handkerchief. His wife then sternly instructed him that he must shed tears when they saw the coffin.

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Open the tool →不见棺材不落泪 (bù jiàn guān cai bù luò lèi) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be stubbornly unwilling to face reality or change one's ways until one is confronted with undeniable, severe consequences; to not give up or acknowledge defeat until absolute failure is imminent”.
不见棺材不落泪 is pronounced bù jiàn guān cai bù luò lèi in Mandarin Chinese.
Literally, 不见棺材不落泪 means “not shed tears until seeing the coffin”. It is used to mean “to be stubbornly unwilling to face reality or change one's ways until one is confronted with undeniable, severe consequences; to not give up or acknowledge defeat until absolute failure is imminent”.
不见棺材不落泪 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
比喻不到彻底失败的时候不肯罢休。