毁 于 一 旦

huǐ yú yī dàndictionary entry

(idiom) ruined in a short time (esp. of sth that took a long time or great effort to achieve)

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-b93f9c0fd8b727ab. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

毀於一旦 毁于一旦 [hui3 yu2 yi1 dan4] /(idiom) ruined in a short time (esp. of sth that took a long time or great effort to achieve)/

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: 毀於一旦

毁
huǐ
to destroy / to ruin / to defame / to slander / to destroy by fire / to defame / to slander
于
yú
to go / to take / sentence-final interrogative particle / (of time or place) in / at / on / (indicating any indirect relation) to / toward / vis-à-vis / with regard to / for / (indicating a source) from / out of / (used in comparison) than / (used in the passive voice) by
Yú
surname Yu
一
yī
one / single / a (article) / as soon as / entire / whole / all / throughout / "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1) / also pr. [yāo] for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit
旦
dàn
(literary) dawn / daybreak / dan, female role in Chinese opera (traditionally played by specialized male actors)

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.