Chinese idiom · 成语
半途而废
Meaning
To give up halfway; to abandon a task incomplete.
Character by character
Origin and story
Philosophical expressionThe Zhongyong (中庸) chapter of Liji (禮記) attributes to Confucius a statement about following the Way without abandoning it partway through. The old text writes the road character as 塗, where the familiar idiom now uses 途. Its surrounding discussion praises maintaining one’s principles even without public recognition.
The road is a metaphor for sustained moral practice. There is no specific unfinished building or interrupted journey in this source passage. Later usage extends the image to giving up a project or course of study before completion. It usually expresses regret or criticism, though stopping an unsuitable task can sometimes be sensible.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
这本书已经翻译了一半，我不想半途而废，打算每天再完成两页。
I’ve translated half the book and don’t want to abandon it, so I plan to finish two more pages each day.
Describes abandoning something already begun, not a temporary break.