失之交臂 shī zhī jiāo bì Miss the opportunity

Explanation

这个成语形容错失机会，指的是本来可以得到的东西，却因为各种原因而没有得到。

This idiom describes missing an opportunity, meaning something that could have been obtained but was not obtained due to various reasons.

Origin Story

从前，有一个名叫张三的书生，他从小就聪明好学，立志要考取功名。有一天，他听说当地有名的私塾先生要收徒，便急急忙忙地赶去拜师。他赶到私塾的时候，发现先生已经在讲课，教室里坐满了学生。张三心想，这可怎么办？如果错过这次机会，恐怕很难再找到这样好的老师了。于是，他鼓起勇气，推开教室的门，走到先生面前，请求先生收留他。先生见他诚心诚意，便同意了。张三很高兴，终于如愿以偿地拜师学艺。 但是，好景不长。由于张三天资愚钝，学习起来十分吃力。尽管他每天都勤奋学习，但仍然跟不上其他同学的进度。先生看在眼里，急在心里，他多次找张三谈话，鼓励他不要放弃，并给他制定了学习计划。可是，张三还是没有进步，他每天都感觉自己被知识的海洋淹没，越来越沮丧。 终于有一天，张三再也忍受不了，他决定放弃学业，回家种田去了。临走的时候，他来到先生的房间，向先生告别。先生看着张三，语重心长地说：“孩子，你为什么要放弃呢？你不是一直梦想着考取功名吗？难道你真的要放弃你的梦想吗？”张三低头不语，他心里很矛盾，一方面他知道自己没有天赋，学习很吃力；另一方面，他又不甘心放弃自己的梦想。 先生接着说道：“我明白你的心情，学习确实很苦，但只要你坚持下去，总会有所成就的。你现在的放弃，就如同失之交臂，错失良机。以后你即使后悔，也无济于事了。” 张三听了先生的话，心中一震，他深深地理解了先生的良苦用心。他回到家里，认真地思考了一番，最终决定重返学堂，继续学习。他发誓，一定要努力学习，不负先生的期望。 张三从此更加刻苦学习，他认真听讲，勤奋练习，终于取得了进步。几年后，他终于考上了进士，实现了自己的梦想。后来，他成为了著名的官员，为百姓做了很多好事。他常常想起当年先生对他的教诲，并把这个故事告诉他的孩子，希望他们也能像他一样，珍惜机会，永不放弃。

cóng qián, yǒu yī gè míng jiào zhāng sān de shū shēng, tā cóng xiǎo jiù cōng míng hǎo xué, lì zhì yào kǎo qǔ gōng míng. yǒu yī tiān, tā tīng shuō dì fāng yǒu míng de sī shú xiān shēng yào shōu tú, biàn jí jí máng máng de gǎn qù bài shī. tā gǎn dào sī shú de shí hòu, fā xiàn xiān shēng yǐ jīng zài jiǎng kè, jiào shì lǐ zuò mǎn le xué shēng. zhāng sān xiǎng, zhè kě zěn me bàn? rú guǒ cuò guò zhè cì jī huì, kǒng pà hěn nán zài zhǎo dào zhè yàng hǎo de lǎo shī le. yú shì, tā gǔ qǐ yǒng qì, tuī kāi jiào shì de mén, zǒu dào xiān shēng miàn qián, qǐng qiú xiān shēng shōu liú tā. xiān shēng jiàn tā chéng xīn chéng yì, biàn tóng yì le. zhāng sān hěn gāo xìng, zhōng yú rú yuàn yǐ cháng de bài shī xué yì.

Once upon a time, there was a young scholar named Zhang San, who was intelligent and diligent since he was a child. He was determined to pass the civil service examination. One day, he heard that a famous private tutor in the area was recruiting students, so he rushed to visit him. When he arrived at the private school, he found that the teacher was already lecturing and the classroom was full of students. Zhang San thought: „What should I do now? If I miss this opportunity, I will probably never find such a good teacher again.

Usage

这个成语用来形容错失机会，表示本来可以得到的却因为各种原因而没有得到。例如，在工作中，如果我们没有抓住机会，就会失之交臂。

zhè ge chéng yǔ yòng lái xíng róng cuò shī jī huì, biǎo shì běn lái kě yǐ dé dào de què yīn wéi gè zhǒng yuán yīn ér méi yǒu dé dào. lì rú, zài gōng zuò zhōng, rú guǒ wǒ men méi yǒu zhuā zhù jī huì, jiù huì shī zhī jiāo bì.

This idiom is used to describe missing an opportunity, meaning that something that could have been obtained was not obtained due to various reasons. For example, in work, if we don't seize the opportunity, we will miss it.

Examples

• 这次合作机会，我们可不能再失之交臂了。

  cì cì hé zuò jī huì, wǒ men kě bù néng zài shī zhī jiāo bì le.

  We can't miss this cooperation opportunity again.

• 他与那个职位失之交臂，真令人惋惜。

  tā yǔ nà ge zhí wèi shī zhī jiāo bì, zhēn lìng rén wǎn xī.

  He narrowly missed the job, it's a pity.

• 机会难得，不要失之交臂。

  jī huì nán dé, bù yào shī zhī jiāo bì

  This is a rare opportunity, don't miss it.

Related Idioms

• 坐失良机

• 错失良机

Opposite Idioms

• 把握机会

• 机不可失