# 木已成舟

mù yǐ chéng zhōu

The outcome is already settled and cannot simply be undone

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** Wood has already become a boat

**Register:** Standard · expressive

[Change & possibility](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/change)

## When to use it

Use when a completed action must now be faced.

May be rhetorical; some decisions can still be revised.

## Understanding the expression

Once timber has been shaped into a boat, it is no longer the same raw material waiting for an initial decision. The expression describes a completed act whose consequences now need acceptance or management. It can calm pointless regret, but it can also be used to discourage legitimate correction. Ask what is truly irreversible. Even when the original act cannot be undone, repair, compensation, or a different next step may remain possible.

## Examples

合同已签，木已成舟。

### Traditional Chinese

合同已籤，木已成舟。

hé tong yǐ qiān ， mù yǐ chéng zhōu 。

The contract is signed; the decision is already made.

木已成舟，先想补救办法。

### Traditional Chinese

木已成舟，先想補救辦法。

mù yǐ chéng zhōu ， xiān xiǎng bǔ jiù bàn fǎ 。

What is done is done; first consider how to remedy it.

房子已经拆了，木已成舟。

### Traditional Chinese

房子已經拆了，木已成舟。

fáng zi yǐ jīng chāi le ， mù yǐ chéng zhōu 。

The house has already been demolished, and that cannot be undone.

别轻易说木已成舟，申请还能撤回。

### Traditional Chinese

別輕易說木已成舟，申請還能撤回。

bié qīng yì shuō mù yǐ chéng zhōu ， shēn qǐng hái néng chè huí 。

Do not assume it is irreversible; the application can still be withdrawn.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 6, 2026.

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E6%9C%A8%E5%B7%B2%E6%88%90%E8%88%9F)

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=854&webMd=1&la=0)

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