吃力不讨好 - Chinese Idiom

Collocation

1

吃力不讨好的差事

2

吃力不讨好的工作

3

这样做结果往往吃力不讨好

4

实在是吃力不讨好

5

真是吃力不讨好

Definition

吃力不讨好

Literally means:

took a lot of effort, but it didn't pay off

Actually means:

do a hard but thankless job; be arduous but fruitless

It means that someone is scolded or criticized rather than be praised or thanked for making great efforts to do something.

指出了力，费了神去做事，不但得不到好处，反而招来了埋怨。

Example

Used as predicate or attributive. (作谓语、定语)

1

Jiějie

姐姐

hěn

很

tiāoti

挑剔

,

tā

她

de

的

yīfu

衣服

bùyào

不要

tì

替

tā

她

mǎi

买

,

fǒuzé

否则

chīlìbùtǎohǎo

吃力不讨好

。

Sister is very picky, her clothes do not buy for her, otherwise hard not to please.

2

Bǎ

把

jīngdiǎn

经典

xìjù

戏剧

pāi

拍

chéng

成

diànshìpiān

电视片

shì

是

yī

一

jiàn

件

chīlìbùtǎohǎo

吃力不讨好

de

的

shìqing

事情

,

rúguǒ

如果

bù

不

gǎidòng

改动

,

biéren

别人

huì

会

shuō

说

nǐ

你

méiyǒu

没有

chuàngyì

创意

,

gǎidòng

改动

le

了

,

biéren

别人

yòu

又

huì

会

shuō

说

nǐ

你

méiyǒu

没有

yuánzuò

原作

de

的

wèidao

味道

。

Making a classic play into a TV movie is a hard thing to do, and if you don't change it, people will say you're not creative, you'll change it, and people will say you don't have the taste of the original.

3

Zhèzhǒng

这种

shì

事

chīlìbùtǎohǎo

吃力不讨好

,

nǐ

你

háishi

还是

bùyào

不要

chāshǒu

插手

qù

去

guǎn

管

。

This kind of thing is hard not to please, you still don't step in to manage.