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Chinese quotes breakdown: 万事俱备，只欠东风

Not a Dictionary · Sentence Card
万事俱备 ， 只欠东风 。
Everything is ready except the east wind. — All is prepared except for the final critical element.
万事俱备 wàn shì jù bèi everything is ready / 一切准备就绪 🔊
只欠东风 zhǐ qiàn dōng fēng only lacking the east wind / 只缺东风 🔊

A famous Chinese proverb originating from the Battle of Red Cliffs (208 AD), where the allied forces of Liu Bei and Sun Quan needed a favorable east wind to launch their fire attack against Cao Cao’s fleet.

万事俱备 (“EVERYTHING IS READY”)

万事 (all things) 俱 (all) 备 (prepared). All preparations have been made; everything is in place.

只欠东风 (“ONLY LACKING THE EAST WIND”)

只 (only) 欠 (lack) 东风 (east wind). The only thing missing is the final, crucial element — often something external and beyond one’s control.

Core Philosophy: Success often depends on a single, critical factor that may be outside our control. Patience and timing are essential.

Classical structure: Condition + Exception
[万事俱备] ， [只欠东风]

The phrase consists of two four-character clauses. The first establishes a complete state (万事俱备 — everything is ready), and the second introduces the sole exception (只欠东风 — only lacking the east wind).

The structure creates tension between near-completion and the final obstacle, making it highly memorable and widely applicable.

EXAMPLE 1 · PROJECT MANAGEMENT
项目 xiàngmù • project 已经 yǐjīng • already 准备 zhǔnbèi • prepared 好 hǎo • done 了 le • [completion] ， 但 dàn • but 还 hái • still 等 děng • wait for 领导 lǐngdǎo • leader 批准 pīzhǔn • approval ， 万事俱备，只欠东风 wàn shì jù bèi, zhǐ qiàn dōng fēng • all set, just waiting for approval 。
The project is all prepared, but we’re still waiting for the leader’s approval — everything is ready except the east wind.
EXAMPLE 2 · WEATHER AND PLANS
明天 míngtiān • tomorrow 的 de • [possessive] 野餐 yěcān • picnic 都 dōu • all 准备 zhǔnbèi • prepared 好 hǎo • done 了 le • [completion] ， 就 jiù • just 看 kàn • depends on 天气 tiānqì • weather 了 le • [particle] ， 万事俱备，只欠东风 wàn shì jù bèi, zhǐ qiàn dōng fēng • all set, just need good weather 。
Tomorrow’s picnic is all prepared — it just depends on the weather. Everything is ready except the east wind.
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