功败垂成
Traditional form:
功敗垂成
Pinyin (reading):
gōngbàichuíchéng
Definitions:
- to fail within sight of success (idiom); last-minute failure
- to fall at the last hurdle
- snatching defeat from the jaws of victory
Characters:
- 功 - achievement, good work; merit; service
- 败 - failure; to decline, to fail, to suffer defeat
- 垂 - to hang, to dangle; to hand down, to bequeath; almost, near
- 成 - to accomplish; to become; to complete, to finish; to succeed
Traditional characters: