事不过三 shì bù guò sān Three strikes and you're out

Explanation

指同样的事情做三次就可以了，不要再继续做下去。

It means that the same thing should not be done three times.

Origin Story

从前，有个小村庄里住着一位老爷爷，老爷爷心地善良，乐于助人。可是，村里有一个爱占小便宜的年轻人，老爷爷经常被这个年轻人利用，一次又一次地帮助他。 有一天，这个年轻人又来借老爷爷的东西，老爷爷心里犹豫了一下，想起了“事不过三”的道理，便拒绝了他。年轻人很不高兴，埋怨老爷爷不讲情面。老爷爷笑着说：“年轻人，我已经帮了你很多次了，‘事不过三’，你应该自己学会独立，不能总依赖别人。” 年轻人听了老爷爷的话，羞愧地低下了头，从此以后，他不再一味地索取，而是努力学习，学会了独立生活。

cóng qián, yǒu ge xiǎo cūn zhuāng lǐ zhù zhe yī wèi lǎo yé yé, lǎo yé yé xīn dì shàn liáng, lè yú zhù rén. kě shì, cūn lǐ yǒu yī ge ài zhàn xiǎo pián yì de nián qīng rén, lǎo yé yé jīng cháng bèi zhè ge nián qīng rén lì yòng, yī cì yī cì dì bāng zhù tā. yǒu yī tiān, zhè ge nián qīng rén yòu lái jiè lǎo yé yé de dōng xi, lǎo yé yé xīn lǐ yóu yù le yī xià, xiǎng qǐ le “shì bù guò sān” de dào li, biàn jù jué le tā. nián qīng rén hěn bù gāo xìng, mái yuàn lǎo yé yé bù jiǎng qíng miàn. lǎo yé yé xiào zhe shuō：“nián qīng rén, wǒ yǐ jīng bāng le nǐ hěn duō cì le, ‘shì bù guò sān’, nǐ yīng gāi zì jǐ xué huì dú lì, bù néng zǒng yī lài bié rén.” nián qīng rén tīng le lǎo yé yé de huà, xiū kuì de dī xià le tóu, cóng cǐ yǐ hòu, tā bù zài yī wèi dì suǒ qǔ, ér shì nǔ lì xué xí, xué huì le dú lì shēng huó.

Once upon a time, there was an old man who lived in a small village. The old man was kind and helpful. But there was also a young man in the village who loved to take advantage of others. The old man was often taken advantage of by this young man and helped him again and again. One day, the young man came to borrow something from the old man. The old man hesitated for a moment and thought of the proverb “Three times is enough” and refused him. The young man was annoyed and accused the old man of being inconsiderate. The old man smiled and said: “Young man, I have helped you many times, ‘Three times is enough’, you should learn to be independent and not always rely on others.” The young man was ashamed and lowered his head when he heard the old man’s words. From that day on, he no longer just demanded, but studied hard and learned to live independently.

Usage

用于劝告别人不要再做某事，或提醒自己不要再犯同样的错误。

yòng yú quàn gào bié rén bù yào zài zuò mǒu shì, huò tí xǐng zì jǐ bù yào zài fàn tóng yàng de cuò wù.

It's used to advise someone not to do something again, or to remind oneself not to make the same mistake again.

Examples

• 他总是犯同样的错误，真是事不过三啊！

  tā zǒng shì fàn tóng yàng de cuò wù, zhēnshi shì bù guò sān a!

  He keeps making the same mistakes, it's really three strikes and you're out!

• 事不过三，我再给他一次机会吧。

  shì bù guò sān, wǒ zài gěi tā yī cì jī huì ba.

  Three strikes and you're out, I'll give him another chance.

• 你已经连续三次迟到了，事不过三，这次就扣你工资！

  nǐ yǐ jīng lián xù sān cì chí dào le, shì bù guò sān, zhè cì jiù kòu nǐ gōng zī!

  You've been late three times in a row, three strikes and you're out, this time I'm going to deduct your salary!

Related Idioms

• 适可而止

• 适度

Opposite Idioms

• 变本加厉

• 一再重申