Give Up Halfway

从前,有个叫乐羊子的人捡到一块金子。Once upon a time, a man named Leyangzi found a piece of gold.兴冲冲地拿回家给妻子看。He excitedly brought it home to show his wife.没想到妻子却皱起眉头。Unexpectedly, his wife frowned.妻子说:“真正的财富要靠自己努力,这种金子不能拿。”His wife said, 'True wealth must come from one's own efforts; you cannot take such gold.'乐羊子听后羞愧不已,便决定离家外出求学。After hearing this, Leyangzi was deeply ashamed and decided to leave home to pursue his studies.
一年后,他突然回到家中。A year later, he suddenly returned home.妻子正在织布,惊讶地问:“怎么这么快就回来了?”His wife was weaving cloth and, surprised, asked, 'Why have you come back so soon?'乐羊子说他太想家了。Leyangzi said he missed home too much.妻子听后,立刻举起剪刀,“咔嚓”一声剪断了织到一半的布。Upon hearing this, his wife immediately lifted the scissors and, with a 'snip', cut the half-woven cloth.这布剪断了,前功尽弃。When the cloth was cut, all previous efforts were wasted.学习如果半途而废,不也一样吗?If one abandons learning halfway, isn't it the same?
“半途而废”字面意思是“走到一半就停下来不做了”。'Bàn tú ér fèi' literally means 'to stop halfway and not continue.'这个成语来源于乐羊子妻子劝他坚持求学的故事,比喻做事中途放弃,缺乏毅力和恒心。This idiom comes from the story of Leyangzi's wife urging him to persevere in his studies and figuratively describes giving up halfway, lacking determination and perseverance.现在我们常用它来提醒自己:遇到困难也要坚持到底。Nowadays we often use it to remind ourselves that when we encounter difficulties, we must persist until the end.比如健身计划就不能半途而废,否则很难看到成果。For example, you cannot abandon a fitness plan halfway; otherwise, it's hard to see results.
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