Animated Stroke Order
Stroke order SVGs for the characters in 得不偿失.
Practice writing 得不偿失 (dé bù cháng shī) with our free printable handwriting worksheet
Character Breakdown
得不偿失 consists of 4 characters.
How to Use 得不偿失 in Sentences
Common collocations & usage patterns. Learn how to combine 得不偿失 with other words naturally.
zhè这
yàng样
zuò做
dé得
bù不
cháng偿
shī失
neutral
doing this is not worth the cost
Adjective + Noun
dé得
bù不
cháng偿
shī失
de的
hòu后
guǒ果
formal
consequences where the loss outweighs the gain
dé得
bù不
cháng偿
shī失
de的
xíng行
wèi为
formal
a behavior that is not worth the cost
dǎo导
zhì致
dé得
bù不
cháng偿
shī失
formalWritten
lead to a situation where the loss outweighs the gain
Example Sentences with 得不偿失
tā他
huā花
hěn很
duō多
qián钱
mǎi买
wán玩
jù具
，
dàn但
wán玩
yī一
xià下
jiù就
huài坏
le了
，
dé得
bù不
cháng偿
shī失
。
He spent a lot of money on a toy, but it broke quickly, which was not worth the cost.
wèi为
le了
zhuī追
qiú求
duǎn短
qī期
lì利
rùn润
ér而
pò破
huài坏
shēng生
tài态
huán环
jìng境
，
cháng长
yuǎn远
lái来
kàn看
jué绝
duì对
shì是
dé得
bù不
cháng偿
shī失
de的
。
Pursuing short-term profits at the expense of the ecological environment is definitely a case of losing more than you gain in the long run.
nǐ你
wèi为
le了
shěng省
zhè这
diǎn点
xiǎo小
qián钱
，
què却
yào要
mào冒
zhè这
me么
dà大
de的
fēng风
xiǎn险
，
nán难
dào道
bù不
jué觉
de得
dé得
bù不
cháng偿
shī失
ma吗
？
You're taking such a big risk just to save this little bit of money; don't you think it's a case of losing more than you gain?
wèi为
le了
gǎn赶
shí时
jiān间
，
tā他
áo熬
yè夜
gōng工
zuò作
，
jié结
guǒ果
dì第
èr二
tiān天
shēng生
bìng病
le了
，
zhēn真
shì是
dé得
bù不
cháng偿
shī失
。
To save time, he worked late into the night, but ended up getting sick the next day, which was really not worth it.
tā他
wèi为
le了
yíng赢
dé得
biàn辩
lùn论
，
bù不
xī惜
shāng伤
hài害
péng朋
yǒu友
de的
gǎn感
qíng情
，
jié结
guǒ果
nòng弄
dé得
zhòng众
pàn叛
qīn亲
lí离
，
zhēn真
shì是
dé得
bù不
cháng偿
shī失
。
In order to win the argument, he didn't hesitate to hurt his friend's feelings, ending up alienating everyone; it was truly a case of losing more than he gained.
zhè这
zhǒng种
yǐ以
xī牺
shēng牲
chǎn产
pǐn品
zhì质
liàng量
wèi为
dài代
jià价
de的
jiàng降
jià价
cù促
xiāo销
，
zuì最
zhōng终
bìng并
bú不
huì会
dài带
lái来
lì利
rùn润
，
fǎn反
ér而
huì会
dé得
bù不
cháng偿
shī失
。
This kind of price-cutting promotion at the cost of product quality will not ultimately bring profits; on the contrary, it will result in losing more than you gain.
gōng公
sī司
wèi为
le了
jiàng降
dī低
chéng成
běn本
，
xuē削
jiǎn减
le了
yuán员
gōng工
fú福
lì利
，
què却
dǎo导
zhì致
rén人
cái才
liú流
shī失
，
zuì最
zhōng终
dé得
bù不
cháng偿
shī失
。
The company cut employee benefits to reduce costs, but this led to a loss of talent, ultimately proving to be not worth the effort.
suī虽
rán然
xiàng项
mù目
tí提
qián前
wán完
chéng成
le了
，
dàn但
tuán团
duì队
yīn因
guò过
dù度
láo劳
lèi累
ér而
shì士
qì气
dī低
luò落
，
zhè这
xiǎn显
rán然
shì是
dé得
bù不
cháng偿
shī失
de的
shèng胜
lì利
。
Although the project was completed ahead of schedule, the team's morale plummeted due to overwork, making this a clearly pyrrhic victory where they lost more than they gained.