Word

得不偿失 (dé bù cháng shī) — Chinese word meaning

HSK 7

得不偿失 (dé bù cháng shī) is a Chinese word: the gains do not make up for the losses; not worth the cost. This page shows its pinyin, translation, example sentences, character breakdown, decomposition, and HSK level.

Meaning of 得不偿失

成语 chéng yǔ idiom

the gains do not make up for the losses; not worth the cost

熬夜学习虽然多记住了些东西,但损害了健康,得不偿失。

áo yè xué xí suī rán duō jì zhù le xiē dōng xi dàn sǔn hài le jiàn kāng dé bù cháng shī

Although staying up late to study helps you remember more things, it harms your health—the losses outweigh the gains.

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Word breakdown

得 dé — gain, obtain

不 bù — not, negation

偿 cháng — compensate, make up for

失 shī — loss, lose

Structure & writing
1 得 dé — to get; to obtain (opposite of 失)
Xpinyin

得 is not used as a component in any other character.

consists of

Stroke order

2 不 bù — not; no (negation before verbs, adjectives, or adverbs)
不 is a component in 8 characters

不 is an atomic character — it does not decompose further.

Stroke order

3 偿 cháng — to repay; to compensate

偿 is not used as a component in any other character.

consists of

3.1 亻 rén — person/human radical (standing figure)
亻 is a component in 117 characters
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3.2 尝 cháng — to taste; to sample food
尝 is a component in 1 characters

Stroke order

4 失 shī — to lose; to be deprived of (opposite of 得)
失 is a component in 4 characters

consists of

Stroke order