反水不收 — “Describes a situation or action that is irreversible”

Q: What is the Chinese definition of 反水不收?

水已泼出去，不能再收回。比喻不可挽回。

反水不收 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “describes a situation or action that is irreversible”. Much like spilled water that cannot be collected back. Literally, “Spilled water cannot be retrieved”.

Frequency

反水不收 Pronunciation and Pinyin

反水不收 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
反	fǎn	4	reverse, opposite, anti
水	shuǐ	4	water, liquid, river, juice
不	bù	4	not
收	shōu	6	receive, collect, or put away

Example Sentence with 反水不收

他已经辞职，并且公开表达了不满，现在想要挽回局面已是反水不收了

He has already resigned and publicly expressed his dissatisfaction; now, trying to reverse the situation is like trying to retrieve spilled water.

Origin and Story of 反水不收

During the Shang Dynasty, Jiang Shang (also known as Jiang Taigong) was exceptionally learned and skilled in military strategy. However, due to his poverty, his wife, Ma Shi, left him, believing he was old and had no prospects.

He then built a thatched hut by the Wei River and lived by fishing.

Later, King Wen of Zhou recognized his talent and appointed him as his national tutor. Jiang Taigong assisted King Wen in overthrowing the Shang Dynasty.

After his success, his former wife, Ma Shi, sought to reunite with him. Jiang Taigong took a basin of water, poured it on the ground, and told her that if she could collect all the spilled water, they would reconcile.

This illustrated the irreversible nature of their separation, just like spilled water cannot be recovered.