吃力不讨好 — “To work hard but get little thanks or appreciation”
吃力不讨好 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to work hard but get little thanks or appreciation”. To do a thankless job. Literally, “exert effort but gain no favor”.
Frequency
吃力不讨好 Pronunciation and Pinyin
吃力不讨好 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 吃力不讨好
帮助邻居搬家是一件吃力不讨好的事情，你费心费力，他们可能觉得理所当然。
Helping neighbors move is a thankless task; you put in a lot of effort, but they might take it for granted.
Idioms Related to 吃力不讨好
Synonyms of 吃力不讨好
More idioms starting with 吃
- chī吃yī一qiàn堑，，zhǎng长yī一zhì智Learn from mistakes
- chī吃bu不liǎo了dōu兜zhe着zǒu走face severe consequences
- chī吃rén人bù不tǔ吐gǔ骨tóu头utterly ruthless and exploitative
- chī吃chī吃hē喝hē喝socialize over food and drink
- chī吃yǎ哑ba巴kuī亏suffer a silent loss
- chī吃hē喝piáo嫖dǔ赌dissolute life of wine, women, and gambling
- chī吃hē喝lā拉sā撒daily physiological needs
- chī吃hē喝wán玩lè乐indulge in eating, drinking, playing, and enjoyment
- chī吃sì四fāng方fàn饭adaptable and resourceful, make a living anywhere
- chī吃dà大guō锅fàn饭egalitarian distribution regardless of contribution
- chī吃xiǎo小kuī亏zhàn占dà大biàn便yí宜suffer small loss, gain big advantage
- chī吃xiǎo小kuī亏de得dà大biàn便yí宜take a small loss for a big gain
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Open the tool →Questions about 吃力不讨好
What does 吃力不讨好 mean?
吃力不讨好 (chī lì bù tǎo hǎo) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to work hard but get little thanks or appreciation”.
How do you pronounce 吃力不讨好?
吃力不讨好 is pronounced chī lì bù tǎo hǎo in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 吃力不讨好 literally mean?
Literally, 吃力不讨好 means “exert effort but gain no favor”. It is used to mean “to work hard but get little thanks or appreciation”.
What is the Chinese definition of 吃力不讨好?
讨：求得。费了好大力气，也得不到称赞。形容事情棘手难办，或工作方法笨拙，不对头。