吃力不讨好
chī lì bù tǎo hǎo
Pinyin

Definition

吃力不讨好
 - 
chī lì bù tǎo hǎo
  1. arduous and thankless task (idiom); strenuous and unrewarding

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

不
bù
  1. 1 (negative prefix)
  2. 2 not
  3. 3 no
吃
chī
  1. 1 to eat
  2. 2 to consume
  3. 3 to eat at (a cafeteria etc)
  4. 4 to eradicate
  5. 5 to destroy
  6. 6 to absorb
  7. 7 to suffer
  8. 8 to stammer (Taiwan pr. for this sense is [jí])
好
hǎo
  1. 1 good
  2. 2 well
  3. 3 proper
  4. 4 good to
  5. 5 easy to
  6. 6 very
  7. 7 so
  8. 8 (suffix indicating completion or readiness)
  9. 9 (of two people) close
  10. 10 on intimate terms
  11. 11 (after a personal pronoun) hello
不久
bù jiǔ
  1. 1 not long (after)
  2. 2 before too long
  3. 3 soon
  4. 4 soon after
不但
bù dàn
  1. 1 not only (... but also...)
不仅
bù jǐn
  1. 1 not only (this one)
  2. 2 not just (...) but also
不到
bù dào
  1. 1 not to arrive
  2. 2 not reaching
  3. 3 insufficient
  4. 4 less than
不同
bù tóng
  1. 1 different
  2. 2 distinct
  3. 3 not the same
  4. 4 not alike
不堪
bù kān
  1. 1 cannot bear
  2. 2 cannot stand
  3. 3 utterly
  4. 4 extremely
不如
bù rú
  1. 1 not equal to
  2. 2 not as good as
  3. 3 inferior to
  4. 4 it would be better to
不妨
bù fáng
  1. 1 there is no harm in
  2. 2 might as well
不安
bù ān
  1. 1 unpeaceful
  2. 2 unstable
  3. 3 uneasy
  4. 4 disturbed
  5. 5 restless
  6. 6 worried
不少
bù shǎo
  1. 1 many
  2. 2 a lot
  3. 3 not few
不已
bù yǐ
  1. 1 endlessly
  2. 2 incessantly
不幸
bù xìng
  1. 1 misfortune
  2. 2 adversity
  3. 3 unfortunate
  4. 4 sad
  5. 5 unfortunately
  6. 6 CL:個|个[gè]
不得不
bù dé bù
  1. 1 have no choice or option but to
  2. 2 cannot but
  3. 3 have to
  4. 4 can't help it
  5. 5 can't avoid
不得了
bù dé liǎo
  1. 1 desperately serious
  2. 2 disastrous
  3. 3 extremely
  4. 4 exceedingly
不愧
bù kuì
  1. 1 to be worthy of
  2. 2 to deserve to be called
  3. 3 to prove oneself to be
不舍
bù shě
  1. 1 reluctant to part with (sth or sb)
  2. 2 unwilling to let go of
不败之地
bù bài zhī dì
  1. 1 invincible position

Idioms (20)

一不做，二不休
yī bù zuò , èr bù xiū
  1. 1 don't do it, or don't rest (idiom); either give up, or go through to the end
  2. 2 Since we started, we must carry it through whatever happens.
  3. 3 in for a penny, in for a pound
一问三不知
yī wèn sān bù zhī
  1. 1 lit. to reply "don't know" whatever the question (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. absolutely no idea of what's going on
  3. 3 complete ignorance
一尘不染
yī chén bù rǎn
  1. 1 untainted by even a speck of dust (idiom); selfless and incorruptible
  2. 2 spotless
一字不提
yī zì bù tí
  1. 1 to not mention a single word (about sth) (idiom)
一山不容二虎
yī shān bù róng èr hǔ
  1. 1 lit. the mountain can't have two tigers (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. this town ain't big enough for the two of us
  3. 3 (of two rivals) to be fiercely competitive
一成不变
yī chéng bù biàn
  1. 1 nothing much changes (idiom); always the same
  2. 2 stuck in a rut
一文不值
yī wén bù zhí
  1. 1 worthless (idiom)
  2. 2 no use whatsoever
一日不见，如隔三秋
yī rì bù jiàn , rú gé sān qiū
  1. 1 one day apart seems like three years (idiom)
一毛不拔
yī máo bù bá
  1. 1 stingy (idiom)
一瓶子不响，半瓶子晃荡
yī píng zi bù xiǎng , bàn píng zi huàng dang
  1. 1 lit. a full bottle makes no sound; a half-filled bottle sloshes (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. empty vessels make the most noise
一病不起
yī bìng bù qǐ
  1. 1 to fall gravely ill, never to recover (idiom)
一窍不通
yī qiào bù tōng
  1. 1 lit. doesn't (even) enter a single aperture (of one's head)
  2. 2 I don't understand a word (idiom)
  3. 3 it's all Greek to me
一笔不苟
yī bǐ bù gǒu
  1. 1 lit. not even one stroke is negligent (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to write characters (calligraphy) in which every stroke is placed perfectly
一丝不挂
yī sī bù guà
  1. 1 not wearing one thread (idiom); absolutely naked
  2. 2 without a stitch of clothing
  3. 3 in one's birthday suit
一丝不苟
yī sī bù gǒu
  1. 1 not one thread loose (idiom); strictly according to the rules
  2. 2 meticulous
  3. 3 not one hair out of place
一着不慎，满盘皆输
yī zhāo bù shèn , mǎn pán jiē shū
  1. 1 One careless move and the whole game is lost. (idiom)
一言不发
yī yán bù fā
  1. 1 to not say a word (idiom)
一语不发
yī yǔ bù fā
  1. 1 to not say a word (idiom)
一蹶不振
yī jué bù zhèn
  1. 1 one stumble, unable to rise (idiom); a setback leading to total collapse
  2. 2 ruined at a stroke
  3. 3 unable to recover after a minor hitch
丈二和尚，摸不着头脑
zhàng èr hé shang , mō bu zháo tóu nǎo
  1. 1 lit. like a three-meter high monk, you can't rub his head (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. at a total loss

Sample Sentences

先不说你们俩。后妈不好当，你对她严厉了，她会说你虐待她，对她宽松了，又会说你不管她。反正净说你坏话。当后妈就是吃力不讨好。
xiān bù shuō nǐmen liǎ 。hòumā bù hǎo dāng ，nǐ duì tā yánlì le ，tā huì shuō nǐ nüèdài tā ，duì tā kuānsōng le ，yòu huì shuō nǐ bù guǎn tā 。fǎnzhèng jìng shuō nǐ huàihuà 。dāng hòumā jiùshì chīlì bù tǎohǎo 。
Don't worry about the two of you. There's nothing good about being a stepmother. If you're strict with her, she'll say you're abusing her. If you're easy on her, she'll say you don't care about her. Whatever you do, she'll speak poorly of you. Being a stepmother is a tireless job that gets you no respect.
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