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失之交臂
失之交臂
失之交臂
失之交臂
失之交臂
失之交臂
失之交臂
失之交臂
失之交臂
失之交臂

失之交臂 — “To miss a golden opportunity or a person by a narrow margin”

失之交臂 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to miss a golden opportunity or a person by a narrow margin”. To let a chance slip by. Literally, “Lost by brushing arms”.

Frequency

失之交臂 Pronunciation and Pinyin

  • 失shī
  • 之zhī
  • 交jiāo
  • 臂bì

失之交臂 Character Breakdown

CharacterPinyinStrokesMeaning
失
shī5lose, miss, or fail
之
zhī4possessive or connective particle
交
jiāo6hand over, cross, interact
臂
bì17arm

Example Sentence with 失之交臂

她曾有幸被选中参加国际交流项目,却因个人原因失之交臂,感到非常惋惜。
She had the good fortune to be selected for an international exchange program, but due to personal reasons, she let the opportunity slip by and felt great regret.

Idioms Related to 失之交臂

Synonyms of 失之交臂

  • zuò坐shī失liáng良jī机miss a good opportunity

Antonyms of 失之交臂

  • jī机bù不kě可shī失Seize the moment

More idioms starting with 失

  • shī失zhī之dōng东yú隅lose at the beginning
  • shī失zhī之dōng东yú隅,,shōu收zhī之sāng桑yú榆lose in one place, gain in another
  • shī失zhī之qiān千lǐ里,,chà差ruò若háo毫lí厘A tiny error leads to a huge divergence
  • shī失zhī之háo毫lí厘,,chā差zhī之qiān千lǐ里A small error leads to a huge mistake
  • shī失zhī之háo毫lí厘,,chà差yǐ以qiān千lǐ里A small error leads to a huge mistake
  • shī失zhī之háo毫lí厘,,miù谬yǐ以qiān千lǐ里A small error leads to a huge mistake
  • shī失zhāng张mào冒shì势act rashly and impetuously
  • shī失zhāng张shī失zhì志flustered and disoriented
  • shī失zhāng张shī失zhì智utterly flustered and disoriented
  • shī失zhāng张shī失zhì致flustered and disoriented
  • shī失jīng惊dǎo倒guài怪make a fuss over nothing
  • shī失jīng惊dǎ打guài怪make a fuss over a trifle

Questions about 失之交臂

What does 失之交臂 mean?
失之交臂 (shī zhī jiāo bì) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to miss a golden opportunity or a person by a narrow margin”.
How do you pronounce 失之交臂?
失之交臂 is pronounced shī zhī jiāo bì in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 失之交臂 literally mean?
Literally, 失之交臂 means “Lost by brushing arms”. It is used to mean “to miss a golden opportunity or a person by a narrow margin”.
What is the Chinese definition of 失之交臂?
交臂:胳膊碰胳膊,指擦肩而过。形容当面错过。
Copy the pinyin for 失之交臂 →Choose tone marks or tone numbers and copy the complete four-character reading.Read Chinese vocabulary and idiom guides →Continue with words, phrases, and idioms explained through natural examples.

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