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得不偿失

得不償失
débùchángshī
idiom HSK 7 #35,546

Meanings

  1. 1 the gains don't make up for the losses
  2. 2 not worth the cost
  3. 3 more trouble than it's worth

Examples

为了省钱而伤害健康，那是得不偿失。
Wèile shěng qián ér shānghài jiànkāng, nà shì débùchángshī.
Sacrificing your health to save money — that's more trouble than it's worth.
这样做得不偿失，还是算了吧。
Zhèyàng zuò débùchángshī, háishi suàn le ba.
Doing it this way isn't worth the cost — let's just forget it.

Tips

memory
得 (gain) 不 (cannot) 偿 (compensate) 失 (loss) — what you gain cannot compensate for what you lose. A perfect cost-benefit idiom.

Stroke Order

得 dé
不 bù
偿 cháng
失 shī