# 万劫不复

wàn jié bù fù

Fall into irreversible ruin

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** Countless calamities without recovery

**Traditional Chinese:** 萬劫不復

**Register:** Warning · literary

[Choices & judgment](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/decisions)

## When to use it

Warn of a catastrophic state from which return seems impossible.

Very dramatic; ordinary failure is seldom this final.

## Understanding the expression

The expression imagines calamity extending so far that recovery no longer arrives. Modern use describes ruin, disgrace, or a destructive situation considered irreversible. It often appears in stern warnings about a disastrous choice. The claim is stronger than a serious setback. Because people and institutions can sometimes recover unexpectedly, avoid using it to declare someone's life permanently hopeless when the practical need is support, repair, or a realistic assessment of remaining options.

## Examples

那次贪污可能让他万劫不复。

### Traditional Chinese

那次貪汙可能讓他萬劫不復。

nà cì tān wū kě néng ràng tā wàn jié bù fù 。

That corruption could bring him irreversible ruin.

小说中的诅咒使王国万劫不复。

### Traditional Chinese

小說中的詛咒使王國萬劫不復。

xiǎo shuō zhōng de zǔ zhòu shǐ wáng guó wàn jié bù fù 。

The novel's curse condemns the kingdom to lasting ruin.

别把一次考试失败当成万劫不复。

### Traditional Chinese

別把一次考試失敗當成萬劫不復。

bié bǎ yí cì kǎo shì shī bài dàng chéng wàn jié bù fù 。

One failed exam is not irreversible ruin.

他警告继续造假会把公司推向万劫不复。

### Traditional Chinese

他警告繼續造假會把公司推向萬劫不復。

tā jǐng gào jì xù zào jiǎ huì bǎ gōng sī tuī xiàng wàn jié bù fù 。

He warned that continued falsification could destroy the company.

## 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=%E8%90%AC%E5%8A%AB%E4%B8%8D%E5%BE%A9)

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=592&webMd=1&la=0)

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