劳民伤财

勞民傷財

láomínshāngcái

idiom

Meanings

1 to waste manpower and money
2 to exhaust the people and drain resources
3 a pointless drain on labor and funds

Characters

to tire; to labor

to harm; to wound

Examples

这种形式主义的活动劳民伤财，没有实际意义。

Zhè zhǒng xíngshì zhǔyì de huódòng láomínshāngcái, méiyǒu shíjì yìyì.

This kind of box-checking event wastes manpower and money without any real purpose.

反复改方案只会劳民伤财。

Fǎnfù gǎi fāng'àn zhǐ huì láomínshāngcái.

Revising the plan over and over will only waste labor and money.

Tips

history

Rooted in 《周易·节》: 「不伤财，不害民」 — 'do not drain resources, do not harm the people,' a classical principle of restrained governance. The idiom inverts that warning into an accusation.

register

Strong negative criticism, common in editorials and complaints about bureaucracy, vanity projects, or over-engineered plans.

Stroke Order

劳 láo

民 mín

伤 shāng

财 cái