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覆水难收

fù shuǐ nán shōudictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
spilt water is difficult to retrieve (idiom) / it's no use crying over spilt milk / what's done is done and can't be reversed / the damage is done / once divorced, there's no reuniting
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-f3164a627df50c55. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

覆水難收 覆水难收 [fu4 shui3 nan2 shou1] /spilt water is difficult to retrieve (idiom)/it's no use crying over spilt milk/what's done is done and can't be reversed/the damage is done/once divorced, there's no reuniting/

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: 覆水難收

  • 覆
    fù

    to reply to a letter / to cover / to overflow / to overturn / to capsize

  • 水
    shuǐ

    water / (after a name) ... River / to swim (used mostly in 會水|会水[huì shuǐ] and 水性[shuǐ xìng]) / (coll.) lacking in substance / shoddy / (bound form) additional cost / extra income / classifier for washings of a garment

    Shuǐ

    surname Shui / Shui ethnic group

  • 难
    nán

    difficult (to...) / problem / difficulty / difficult / not good

    nàn

    disaster / distress / to scold

  • 收
    shōu

    to receive / to accept / to collect / to put away / to restrain / to stop / in care of (used on address line after name)

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.