Definition
This chengyu literally means 'to cast something into the eastward-flowing stream' — implying that all one's hard work, effort, or resources are lost as if swept away by a river. You use it when previous investments (time, money, energy) amount to nothing due to an unexpected failure or change. It often appears with 都 or 了 after the phrase: 全都付之东流('it all went down the drain').
idiom
all one's efforts are wastedto come to nothing
Examples
- ，付之东流，。Tā xīnkǔ zhǔnbèi le bàn nián, zuìhòu què fù zhī dōng liú, fēicháng shīwàng.He prepared painstakingly for half a year, but in the end all his efforts were wasted; he was very disappointed.
- ，付之东流。Yīnwèi yì chǎng dàhuǒ, tā de suǒyǒu xīnxuè dōu fù zhī dōng liú le.Because of a big fire, all his hard work went down the drain.
- ，付之东流。Rúguǒ bù jiānchí dàodǐ, zhīqián de yíqiè nǔlì dōu huì fù zhī dōng liú.If you don't persist to the end, all previous efforts will be wasted.
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