事不过三 shì bù guò sān

DEFINITIONS

  1. a thing should not be attempted more than three times (idiom)
  2. don't repeat the same mistake again and again
  3. bad things don't happen more than three times

CHARACTERS

事 shì
HSK 2
affair, matter, business; to serve; accident, incident
不 bù
HSK 1
no, not; un-; negative prefix
过 guò
HSK 2
pass, pass through, go across
三 sān
HSK 1
three