食鸡肋

食雞肋

shíjīlèi

phrase

Meanings

1 to do something of little value that is still hard to give up
2 to pursue a tasteless but not-quite-worthless undertaking

Characters

Examples

HSK 5

继续投资等于食鸡肋，放弃又舍不得。

Jìxù tóuzī děngyú shíjīlèi, fàngqì yòu shěbude.

Pouring more money in is nibbling a chicken rib, but letting go feels like a loss too.

HSK 7-9

这份工作薪水低又无聊，真是食鸡肋，弃之可惜。

Zhè fèn gōngzuò xīnshuǐ dī yòu wúliáo, zhēnshì shíjīlèi, qì zhī kěxī.

The pay is low and the work is dull, but quitting feels like a waste - a real chicken-rib situation.

Tips

history

From 《三国志·魏志》: when Cao Cao at Hanzhong mumbled 鸡肋 (chicken ribs) as the night's password, his secretary Yang Xiu decoded it as 'not worth eating, yet a shame to throw away' - and correctly predicted the army would withdraw.

Stroke Order

食 shí

鸡 jī

肋 lèi