Chinese Practice
得不償失
the losses outweigh the gains
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
照片:維基共享資源
(de2 bu4 chang2 shi1)
成語「得不償失」原作「得不酬失」,出自《後漢書》「故得不酬失,功不半勞」,意為:「因此所得到的抵償不了所失去的,所成就的不及所付出的一半」。這是描述漢代朝廷花了很多功夫鎮壓境內西羌人的抗爭,但卻效果有限。雖然漢人在數量上比西羌明顯更具優勢,且多次成功鎮壓西羌叛亂,但其所耗費之人力與金錢太過巨大,終而導致漢代國勢的衰敗。
宋代詩文大家蘇軾在回覆其弟的〈和子由除日見寄〉一詩中用到這成語,並把它寫作「得不償失」。
這句話的意思為失去的比得到的更多,英文常譯為the losses outweigh the gains。我們在四月十七日的「活用成語」單元所介紹的英文片語Pyrrhic victory
(皮洛士的勝利),在某些語境中也可以用來表達得不償失的意思。另外,類似的片語還有not worth the candle(不值得點蠟燭)。中世紀時電燈尚未發明,燭光為太陽下山後唯一的照明光源。若有活動被認為是浪費時間,就可說是不值得花錢準備蠟燭來照明的。最後,還有一個片語叫作false economy(假節約),意思是說,你為了省錢而買品質較差的東西,結果長期下來,卻是花費了更多錢買東西去更換它。
(台北時報編譯林俐凱譯)
他多年來把陪家人孩子的時間都用來加班,為了多賺點錢卻失去了寶貴的親情,得不償失,他後悔不已。
(For many years he wasted time he could have spent with his child doing overtime at work, losing precious time spent with his family for the sake of a little extra cash. It was not worth it, and he came to regret it.)
你不要得理不饒人,吵贏了架卻傷了感情,這樣得不償失。
(If you win the argument, but lose a friend, it isn’t worth it in the end.)
英文練習
the losses outweigh the gains; false economy
The Chinese idiom 得不償失 was originally written 得不酬失, from a phrase in the Hou Han Shu (Book of the Later Han Dynasty) reading "故得不酬失,功不半勞": “And therefore the gains do not compensate for the losses, the achievement does not equal half the work put in.” This was a direct reference to the Han court’s efforts in fighting uprisings of the Western Qiang people living in Han territories. Despite the Han’s considerable numerical advantage, and the fact that they managed to suppress several Western Qiang uprisings, the human and monetary cost of this effort was huge, to the extent that it contributed to the decline of the dynasty.
Much later, the Song dynasty poet Su Shi would reference that idiom in a poem replying to his brother, entitled “Responding to a Poem Received on New Year’s Eve from Ziyou,” in which he used the phrase 得不償失.
It means the losses outweigh the gains, the phrase often used to translate it in English. In certain contexts, the term Pyrrhic victory — discussed in Using Idioms on April 17 — can be used to describe the idea behind 得不償失. Then there is the phrase “not worth the candle.” In medieval times, before electric lighting, candles were the only light source after the sun had gone down. If an activity was considered a waste of time, it was said not to be worth the cost of the candle used to cast light over it. Finally, in English there is the idea of the “false economy,” where you think you are saving money by buying something of lesser quality, but end up having to spend more purchasing replacements in the long term.
(Paul Cooper, Taipei Times)
I’m not spending any more time on this game: it’s not worth the candle.
(我不想玩這遊戲了,這不值得我花時間。)
You might think you’re saving money buying cheap clothes, but they’ll fall apart after two washes. They’re a false economy.
(你以為買便宜的衣服可以省錢,但這衣服才洗過兩次就破了,這是假節約。)
A: Also, police seized seven pornographic videos featuring minors that entertainer Mickey Huang purchased in his hard disc. B: That’s just outrageous! A: His ex-girlfriend entertainer Little S and some others are calling for a legal amendment to increase the penalty. B: The buyers and sellers should both be punished heavily. A: But the porn sellers’ Web sites are mostly overseas, so they are hard to catch. A: 此外警方也在黃子佼的硬碟裡,查到7部他買的未成年色情片。 B: 真是令人火大! A: 他的前女友小S等人,還呼籲修法,加重相關的罰則。 B: 購買者和販賣者雙方都該重罰。 A: 不過色情網站大多設在海外要抓也不容易吧。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Jumping rope has long been considered an excellent form of exercise. It not only burns calories but also improves cardiovascular health and __1__ core muscles. Anyone who has used a traditional jump rope, though, knows that it requires a certain level of skill and coordination. However, with the development of the cordless jump rope, this is __2__ the case. The cordless jump rope is an innovation in the fitness industry that has gained popularity in recent years. As its name suggests, it doesn’t have a cord connecting the two handles. Instead, each handle features a short cord with a
Let’s explore another delicacy primarily known to Tainan locals: floating milkfish in thick soup. Despite its peculiar name, this dish is another Tainan specialty that showcases the popularity of milkfish, which is made into fish paste and served in thick soup. Unlike the version with tutuo fish, which also adds other ingredients to its thick soup, the floating milkfish version primarily features the “floating fish” itself in its thick soup, ensuring that the fish paste remains the star of the dish. 讓我們來探索另一道台南人熟悉的美食:浮水魚羹。這道菜名奇特的美食,再再展現了台南虱目魚料理的多樣。浮水魚羹是用虱目魚漿做成的羹品,雖然和𩵚魠魚羹一樣是羹湯,但不像𩵚魠魚羹會在湯中加入其他食材,而是讓虱目魚漿成為這道料理的主角。 peculiar (adj.) 獨特的;古怪的 The belly of a milkfish is considered the most
The practice of freezing embryos as part of in vitro fertilization (IVF) was thrown into chaos in Alabama this year, when the state supreme court ruled that such embryos should be considered children, exposing clinics to wrongful death claims in the event they are destroyed in the thawing process. In 2021, more than 80 percent of US IVF procedures involved the transfer of frozen embryos, according to a recent report by the US Department of Health and Human Services. HOW IS EMBRYO FREEZING USED IN IVF? IVF uses high doses of hormones to stimulate ovaries to produce as many eggs as possible. Once