得不偿失 — “The losses outweigh the gains”
得不偿失 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “the losses outweigh the gains”. What is gained cannot compensate for what is lost; it's not worth the candle. Literally, “Gains do not compensate for losses”.
Frequency
得不偿失 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 得dé
- 不bù
- 偿cháng
- 失shī
得不偿失 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 得不偿失
为了节省一点小钱而购买质量差的电器，结果频繁维修，真是得不偿失
Buying low-quality appliances just to save a little money, only to have frequent repairs, is truly a case of the loss outweighing the gain.
Origin and Story of 得不偿失
During the Three Kingdoms period, Sun Quan of Eastern Wu occupied the six commanderies of Jiangdong. He wanted to expand his sphere of influence, so he summoned his officials to discuss attacking Yizhou and Qiongya.
All the ministers agreed to send troops, except for Lu Xun, the Right Protector-General, who believed that they should recuperate and strengthen their forces at that time.
Sun Quan did not adopt his advice and sent troops, achieving victory, but overall, the gains did not compensate for the losses.
Idioms Related to 得不偿失
Antonyms of 得不偿失
More idioms starting with 得
- dé得yī一wàng望shí十insatiably greedy and never satisfied
- dé得yī一zhī知jǐ己，，sǐ死kě可wú无hèn恨To find a soulmate, die without regret
- dé得bù不cháng偿sàng丧losses outweigh gains
- dé得bù不bǔ补shī失gains do not offset losses
- dé得bù不chóu酬shī失gains do not compensate for losses
- dé得yú于xīn心yīng应yú于shǒu手mastery of mind and hand
- dé得rén人sǐ死lì力win people's utmost loyalty and effort
- dé得rén人zhě者chāng昌，，shī失rén人zhě者wáng亡Gain support, thrive; lose support, perish
- dé得rén人qián钱cái财，，yǔ与rén人xiāo消zāi灾take money, avert disaster
- dé得xiū休biàn便xiū休know when to stop
- dé得pián便yi宜mài卖guāi乖gain advantage and then act smug
- dé得tù兔wàng忘tí蹄forget the means once the end is achieved
Questions about 得不偿失
- What does 得不偿失 mean?
- 得不偿失 (dé bù cháng shī) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “the losses outweigh the gains”.
- How do you pronounce 得不偿失?
- 得不偿失 is pronounced dé bù cháng shī in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 得不偿失 literally mean?
- Literally, 得不偿失 means “Gains do not compensate for losses”. It is used to mean “the losses outweigh the gains”.
- Where does 得不偿失 come from?
- 得不偿失 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 得不偿失?
- 偿：抵得上。所得的利益抵偿不了所受的损失。