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費力不討好

简费力不讨好 · 繁費力不討好

Mandarin · pinyin fèi lì bù tǎo hǎo

arduous and thankless task (idiom); strenuous and unrewarding

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Characters in this entry

費: Look up this written character
力: lì · power, capability, influence; Kangxi radical 19
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
討: Look up this written character
好: hǎo · good, excellent, fine; well
费: fèi · expenses, expenditures, fee
讨: tǎo · to discuss; ask for, beg; demand; dun; marry

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–4–4–3–3 · fei4 li4 bu4 tao3 hao3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

費力不討好 · find source passages ↗ · 费力不讨好 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

fai3 lik6 bat1 tou2 hou2

Cantonese word readings for 費力不討好. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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