lit. success and failure, the gains and losses (idiom) / fig. to weigh up various factors
成败论人
chéng bài lùn rén
to judge people based on their success or failure (idiom)
报忧
bào yōu
to report bad news / to announce failure, shortcoming or disaster
失败是成功之母
shī bài shì chéng gōng zhī mǔ
Failure is the mother of success.
三七开定论
sān qī kāi dìng lùn
thirty percent failure, seventy percent success, the official PRC verdict on Mao Zedong
以失败而告终
yǐ shī bài ér gào zhōng
to succeed through failure / to achieve one's final aim despite apparent setback
前车之覆，后车之鉴
qián chē zhī fù , hòu chē zhī jiàn
lit. the cart in front overturns, a warning to the following cart (idiom) / fig. draw lesson from the failure of one's predecessor / learn from past mistake / once bitten twice shy
lit. warning to the following cart (idiom) / don't follow the track of an overturned cart / fig. draw lesson from the failure of one's predecessor / learn from past mistake / once bitten twice shy
lit. raised up by Xiao He, cast down by Xiao He (idiom), alluding to Han Xin 韓信|韩信[Han2 Xin4] being made Grand General 大將軍|大将军[da4 jiang1 jun1] / fig. a situation where one's success and failure are both due to the same factor
to lose one's spouse (through marriage failure or bereavement)
阴沟里翻船
yīn gōu lǐ fān chuán
to meet with unexpected failure (idiom) / to fail miserably (where failure was not expected)
无颜见江东父老
wú yán jiàn Jiāng dōng fù lǎo
(idiom) to be unable to return to one's hometown due to the shame of failure (originally referred to Xiang Yu 項羽|项羽[Xiang4 Yu3], who chose not to retreat to Jiangdong after his humiliating defeat)
chuī