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为他人作嫁衣裳

為他人作嫁衣裳
wèitārénzuòjiàyīshang
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 to sew a wedding dress for someone else
  2. 2 fig. to toil thanklessly for another's benefit
  3. 3 to do all the work only to see someone else reap the reward

Examples

他辛苦了一年，最后却为他人作嫁衣裳。
Tā xīnkǔ le yì nián, zuìhòu què wèi tārén zuò jià yīshang.
He toiled for a whole year, only to end up making wedding clothes for someone else.
如果没有合同保护，你的创意可能只是为他人作嫁衣裳。
Rúguǒ méiyǒu hétong bǎohù, nǐ de chuàngyì kěnéng zhǐshì wèi tārén zuò jià yīshang.
Without contractual protection, your ideas might just end up being work done for someone else's benefit.

Tips

history
From the late Tang poet Qin Taoyu's (秦韬玉) 《贫女》 (The Poor Girl): 蓬门未识绮罗香，拟托良媒益自伤。……苦恨年年压金线，为他人作嫁衣裳。 — 'My thatched door has never known the scent of silks; to ask a matchmaker would only deepen my grief… Bitter that year after year I press the gold thread, sewing bridal gowns for other women.' A poor seamstress who can never afford her own wedding dress became the canonical image of thankless labor.
usage
Often shortened to 作嫁衣裳 or 为人作嫁. Used when someone's hard work ends up benefiting a rival or employer, not themselves. Note 衣裳 is read yīshang here, not yīcháng.

Stroke Order

为 wèi
他 tā
人 rén
作 zuò
嫁 jià
衣 yī
裳 shang