夜长梦多 yè cháng mèng duō Long night, many dreams

Explanation

指时间拖长了，容易发生意外或变故。

This idiom means that if something is delayed, unexpected or unfavorable things may happen.

Origin Story

从前，有个商人做生意，他与一个客户约定好交易时间。但商人因为贪图小便宜，想等一等，看能不能以更低的价格购入货物。结果，客户等不及了，另找了合作对象，商人不仅没有得到便宜，反而损失了一笔重要的生意。他悔恨不已，感叹道：“夜长梦多啊！早点行动就好了！”

cóng qián, yǒu gè shāng rén zuò shēng yì, tā yǔ yīgè kè hù yuē dìng hǎo jiāoyì shí jiān. dàn shāng rén yīn wèi tāntú xiǎo piányí, xiǎng děng yī děng, kàn néng bù néng yǐ gèng dī de jiàgé gòu rù huò wù. jié guǒ, kè hù děng bù jí le, lìng zhǎo le hézuò duì xiàng, shāng rén bù jǐn méi yǒu dé dào piányí, fǎn ér sǔn shī le yī bǐ zhòng yào de shēng yì. tā huǐ hèn bù yǐ, gǎn tàn dào: “yè cháng mèng duō a! zǎo diǎn xíng dòng jiù hǎo le!”

Once upon a time, there was a businessman who made a deal with a client. However, the businessman was greedy and wanted to wait to see if he could get a better price. Unfortunately, the client lost patience and found another business partner. The businessman not only failed to get a better price, but also lost a significant deal. He regretted it very much and sighed: "Night is long, dreams are many! It would have been better to act sooner!"

Usage

用作宾语、定语；指时间拖长容易出问题。

yòng zuò bīn yǔ, dìng yǔ; zhǐ shí jiān tuō cháng róng yì chū wèn tí

Used as an object or attribute; means that problems can occur if things are delayed.

Examples

• 夜长梦多，还是尽快把事情解决了吧！

  yè cháng mèng duō, hái shì jǐn kuài bǎ shì qing jiě jué le ba!

  It's better to act quickly because things may turn for worse if we wait too long.

• 计划赶不上变化，夜长梦多，咱们还是早点行动吧。

  jì huà gǎn bù shàng biàn huà, yè cháng mèng duō, zán men hái shì zǎo diǎn xíng dòng ba

  Don't delay. The longer you wait, the more likely things will go wrong

Related Idioms

• 多事之秋

• 祸起萧墙

Opposite Idioms

• 一成不变

• 稳定