| 玩物丧志 |
wán wù sàng zhì |
lit. trifling destroys the will (idiom); infatuation with fine details prevents one making progress / excessive attention to trivia saps the will |
| 玩 |
wán |
to play / to have fun / to trifle with / toy / sth used for amusement / curio or antique (Taiwan pr. [wan4]) / to keep sth for entertainment |
| 玩 |
wán |
variant of 玩 / Taiwan pr. [wan4] |
| 玩物 |
wán wù |
toy; plaything |
| 物 |
wù |
(bound form) thing / (literary) the outside world as distinct from oneself; people other than oneself |
| 丧 |
sāng |
mourning / funeral / (old) corpse |
| 丧 |
sàng |
to lose sth abstract but important (courage, authority, one's life etc) / to be bereaved of (one's spouse etc) / to die / disappointed / discouraged |
| 丧志 |
sàng zhì |
to become demoralized / to lose one's sense of purpose |
| 志 |
zhì |
aspiration / ambition / the will |
| 志 |
zhì |
sign / mark / to record / to write a footnote |