📖 Meaning
Rolling a ball up a slope. A metaphor for something extremely difficult to accomplish, like pushing a ball uphill against gravity. It describes tasks that go against the natural grain of things and are nearly impossible to achieve.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom does not have a single well-documented literary origin but appears across classical Chinese writings as a vivid metaphor. The imagery is self-evident: rolling a round ball up a slope requires constant effort, and the slightest lapse sends it tumbling back down. It belongs to a family of idioms using 丸 (ball) and slopes to illustrate futility or extreme difficulty. The concept parallels Western notions of a Sisyphean task.
💡 Example Usage
在这个饱和的市场里创业成功，无异于逆坂走丸。
Succeeding as a startup in this saturated market is like rolling a ball uphill.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 逆坂走丸
- Pinyin: nì bǎn zǒu wán
- Literal Translation: against, slope, roll, ball
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4