损人不利己

損人不利己

sǔnrénbùlìjǐ

idiom

Meanings

Zhè zhǒng sǔnrénbùlìjǐ de shì, tā yě zuò de chū.

He's capable of things that hurt others without even helping himself.

Sǔnrénbùlìjǐ de xíngwéi zuì méi yìsi.

Actions that hurt others for no personal gain are the most pointless.

history

Lu Xun used the phrase in a letter to Cao Juren: 只有损人而不利己的事，我是反对的 — 'the only thing I oppose is harm that doesn't even benefit the one doing it'.

usage

Strong criticism. Worse than 损人利己 (selfish harm), because there's not even self-interest to explain it.

损 sǔn

人 rén

不 bù

利 lì

己 jǐ