yǒu shǐ wú zhōngdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
to start but not finish (idiom); to fail to carry things through / lack of sticking power / short attention span
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-a14f6bdf1f2c9aec. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

有始無終 有始无终 [you3 shi3 wu2 zhong1] /to start but not finish (idiom); to fail to carry things through/lack of sticking power/short attention span/

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: 有始無終

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.