<p>I think my answer to this post <a href="https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/34940/anyone-heard-a-saying-about-marriage-being-like-cooking-rice/34941#34941">Anyone heard a saying about marriage being like cooking rice?</a> answered your question about when to use 米已成炊.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>There is an expression &quot;米已成炊&quot; (rice is cooked) It describes &quot;既成事實&quot; (a realized fact)</em></p>
<p><em>When raw rice is cooked, it cannot be changed back to raw again. Old Chinese thinking considered marriage is permanent, must be treated with caution. If a man and a woman get married, it is like raw rice boiled to be cooked rice-- It is permanent, cannot be undone. The only option is to eat it, meaning accept it</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>~</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>In the past, if a man and a woman had sex, they had no choice but to get marry. &quot;米已成炊&quot; can also describe this fact.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>As for 木已成舟, it can be used more generally for describing something that has became a &quot;realized fact&quot; and the only option is to accept it. e.g. &quot;就像木已成舟一樣, 最高法院法官就任後就不能被罷免&quot;，(Just like a tree had turned into a boat, once a Supreme court judge is appointed, he cannot be removed from his position)</p>
<p><em>木已成舟 can also replace 米已成炊 for describing &quot;marriage is permanent&quot;</em></p>
<p>When you said you want to give a warning before you tell someone something, I presume you meant that person might not like what he will hear. If it is the case, I suggest &quot;別說我沒警告你，一旦我把事情告訴了你，你就不能當没聽過&quot; (Don't say I didn't warn you, once I told you the story, you cannot pretend you never heard it)</p>
<p>I can't think of an idiom that mean: &quot;別說我沒警告你&quot; (Don't say I didn't warn you), but you can use an idiomatic phrase like &quot;事先警告&quot; (be forewarned)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-08T13:52:19.240Z
2019-10-09T04:27:21.433Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
Tang Ho
<p>米已成炊 or 木已成舟 can't be used like the way you use them. They describe a <strong>situation</strong> where you can do nothing but accept the fact because something has already happened and there's no way you could undo it. </p>

<p>Usually, it goes like: </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>我已经把我的故事都告诉你了，没有办法再收回来了。 现在米已成炊了，我能怎么办呢？</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Or </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>我已经把我的故事都告诉你了，现在米已成炊, 没有办法再收回来了。</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-08T12:38:40.603Z
2019-10-08T13:24:43.537Z
2019-10-08T13:24:43.537Z
dan
<p>I wrote the following:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>我愿意告诉你我的故事，可是后来就跟<a href="https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E7%B1%B3%E5%B7%B2%E6%88%90%E7%82%8A" rel="nofollow noreferrer">米已成炊</a>一样。</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Basically, it was intended as a warning:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>I'm willing to tell you my story, but afterwards I can't un-tell you.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>My Chinese teacher indicated she understood what I meant, but gave me the impression the sentence didn't piece together well.  I'm particularly keen on using the idiom 米已成炊 as I need some practice using them.</p>

<p><strong>Question</strong>: How can I use the idiom 米已成炊 to explain this?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-09T03:46:01.533Z
米已成炊 is not a good way to express "I can't un-tell you". 米已成炊 is used to describe some actions(eg pressing a button, dropping a class,...) that can't be changed after.
wada
<grammar><usage><sentence-structure><idioms>
How can I use the idiom 米已成炊 to explain "once I've told you, I can't un-tell you"?
# How can I use the idiom 米已成炊 to explain "once I've told you, I can't un-tell you"?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-10-08)

I wrote the following:

> 我愿意告诉你我的故事，可是后来就跟[米已成炊](https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E7%B1%B3%E5%B7%B2%E6%88%90%E7%82%8A)一样。

Basically, it was intended as a warning:

> I'm willing to tell you my story, but afterwards I can't un-tell you.

My Chinese teacher indicated she understood what I meant, but gave me the impression the sentence didn't piece together well. I'm particularly keen on using the idiom 米已成炊 as I need some practice using them.

**Question**: How can I use the idiom 米已成炊 to explain this?

**Tags:** grammar, usage, sentence-structure, idioms

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 米已成炊 is not a good way to express "I can't un-tell you". 米已成炊 is used to describe some actions(eg pressing a button, dropping a class,...) that can't be changed after.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2019-10-08. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

米已成炊 or 木已成舟 can't be used like the way you use them. They describe a **situation** where you can do nothing but accept the fact because something has already happened and there's no way you could undo it.

Usually, it goes like:

> 我已经把我的故事都告诉你了，没有办法再收回来了。 现在米已成炊了，我能怎么办呢？

Or

> 我已经把我的故事都告诉你了，现在米已成炊, 没有办法再收回来了。


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### Answer by username_2 on 2019-10-08. Score: 3

I think my answer to this post [Anyone heard a saying about marriage being like cooking rice?](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/34940/anyone-heard-a-saying-about-marriage-being-like-cooking-rice/34941#34941) answered your question about when to use 米已成炊.

> *There is an expression "米已成炊" (rice is cooked) It describes "既成事實" (a realized fact)*
>
> *When raw rice is cooked, it cannot be changed back to raw again. Old Chinese thinking considered marriage is permanent, must be treated with caution. If a man and a woman get married, it is like raw rice boiled to be cooked rice-- It is permanent, cannot be undone. The only option is to eat it, meaning accept it*

~

> *In the past, if a man and a woman had sex, they had no choice but to get marry. "米已成炊" can also describe this fact.*

As for 木已成舟, it can be used more generally for describing something that has became a "realized fact" and the only option is to accept it. e.g. "就像木已成舟一樣, 最高法院法官就任後就不能被罷免"，(Just like a tree had turned into a boat, once a Supreme court judge is appointed, he cannot be removed from his position)

*木已成舟 can also replace 米已成炊 for describing "marriage is permanent"*

When you said you want to give a warning before you tell someone something, I presume you meant that person might not like what he will hear. If it is the case, I suggest "別說我沒警告你，一旦我把事情告訴了你，你就不能當没聽過" (Don't say I didn't warn you, once I told you the story, you cannot pretend you never heard it)

I can't think of an idiom that mean: "別說我沒警告你" (Don't say I didn't warn you), but you can use an idiomatic phrase like "事先警告" (be forewarned)


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