马 后 炮

mǎhòupào

Meaning

(Chinese chess) moving the cannon after moving the horse away
(fig.) a useless action or comment; sth done after it's too late
variant of 馬後炮|马后炮[ma3 hou4 pao4]

Example

事情已经定下来了，我们再怎么努力也无济于事了，一切都是马后炮了。

The matter can't be changed. No matter how hard we try, everything is fruitless.

Example sentence from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0).

Characters

mǎHSK 13 strokesabbr. for Malaysia 馬來西亞|马来西亚[Ma3 lai2 xi1 ya4]hòuHSK 16 strokesempress pàoHSK 69 strokesto sauté

More HSK 7-9 words

心灵手巧xīnlíng-shǒuqiǎocapableHSK 7-9 天平tiānpíngscales (to weigh things)HSK 7-9 巨人jùréngiantHSK 7-9 阻力zǔlìresistanceHSK 7-9 学士xuéshìbachelor's degreeHSK 7-9 荒谬huāngmiùabsurd; ridiculousHSK 7-9 拜会bàihuì(often used in the context of diplomacy) to meet with; to pay a visit to; to call onHSK 7-9 确信quèxìnto be convincedHSK 7-9 强硬qiángyìngtoughHSK 7-9 冷酷lěngkùunfeeling; callousHSK 7-9