挑水的回头，过井了挑水的回頭，過井了挑水的回頭，過井了

the water carrier turns around: he has walked past the well

Saying俗语俗語

Two-part saying歇后语歇後語 · Rarely used now

Meaning: Circumstances have changed and things are no longer as they were. Said when a situation has passed.
Wordplay: 井 (jǐng, well) is written for 境 (jìng, situation), near-homophones differing in tone, so 'past the well' sounds like 'the situation has gone by'.

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Simplified: 挑水的回头，过井了
Traditional (Taiwan): 挑水的回頭，過井了
Pinyin: tiāo shuǐ de huítóu, guò jǐng le
Bopomofo: ㄊㄧㄠㄕㄨㄟˇ ˙ㄉㄜㄏㄨㄟˊ ㄊㄡˊ，ㄍㄨㄛˋ ㄐㄧㄥˇ ˙ㄌㄜ

Written with HSK 6 vocabulary, at CEFR level B2.

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