事 与 愿 违

shì yǔ yuàn wéidictionary entry

things turn out contrary to the way one wishes (idiom)

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-229400290aaf70e2. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

事與願違事与愿违 [shi4 yu3 yuan4 wei2] /things turn out contrary to the way one wishes (idiom)/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 事與願違

事
shì
matter / thing / item / work / affair / CL:件[jiàn],樁|桩[zhuāng],回[huí]
与
yú
See the full entry for source details.
yǔ
(formal) and / together with (linking parallel nouns, verbs, or phrases) / (formal) with / from (marking the other participant in an interaction, comparison, or contrast, e.g. 與他握手|与他握手[yǔ tā wò shǒu] "shake hands with him", 與去年不同|与去年不同[yǔ qù nián bù tóng] "different from last year") / (literary) to give / to grant / to bestow
yù
to take part in
愿
yuàn
honest and prudent / (bound form) wish / hope / desire / to be willing / to wish (that sth may happen) / may ... / vow / pledge
违
wéi
(bound form) to violate / to go against / (bound form) to be away from

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.