费力不讨好 — “To put in a lot of effort but get no thanks”
费力不讨好 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to put in a lot of effort but get no thanks”. To work hard but receive no appreciation; thankless effort. Literally, “expend effort but not gain favor”.
Frequency
费力不讨好 Pronunciation and Pinyin
费力不讨好 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 费力不讨好
他主动帮助同事解决了一个技术难题，结果反而被指责没有事先沟通，真是费力不讨好。
He proactively helped a colleague solve a technical problem, but was instead blamed for not communicating beforehand. It was truly a thankless effort.
Idioms Related to 费力不讨好
Synonyms of 费力不讨好
Antonyms of 费力不讨好
More idioms starting with 费
- fèi费lì力láo劳xīn心expend great physical and mental effort
- fèi费lì力láo劳shén神expend effort and tax one's spirit
- fèi费jìn尽xīn心si思rack one's brains
- fèi费jìn尽xīn心jī机rack one's brains to scheme
- fèi费xīn心láo劳lì力expend great mental and physical effort
- fèi费shé舌láo劳chún唇waste breath talking in vain
- fèi费cái财láo劳mín民waste money and trouble people
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Open the tool →Questions about 费力不讨好
What does 费力不讨好 mean?
费力不讨好 (fèi lì bù tǎo hǎo) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to put in a lot of effort but get no thanks”.
How do you pronounce 费力不讨好?
费力不讨好 is pronounced fèi lì bù tǎo hǎo in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 费力不讨好 literally mean?
Literally, 费力不讨好 means “expend effort but not gain favor”. It is used to mean “to put in a lot of effort but get no thanks”.
What is the Chinese definition of 费力不讨好?
指白费功夫，没有取得成效，相反带来坏的影响。