心劳日拙

xīn láo rì zhuō

  • Meaning

    Literal

    -

    Usage

    To expend a lot of effort but have things get worse and worse

  • Connotation

    Negative

  • Usage Examples

    反动派妄图扑灭革命火种,但心劳日拙,无济于事 | Fǎndòngpài wàngtú pūmiè gémìng huǒzhòng, dàn xīnláorìzhuō, wújìyúshì
    The opposition party tried to quash the flames of revolution, but in the end they only made things worse
    [Source]

  • Equivalents

    English

    None

    Chinese

    None

  • Entry Notes

    None

  • Origin

    《尚书》(Shàng Shū), generally known in English as the "Book of Historical Documents" or "Book of History." It is one of the five classics of ancient Chinese literature.

  • Story

    This chengyu is from a line in the work listed in the "Origin" section above

  • Citations and Helpful Resources

    • 汉语成语小词典 (hànyǔ chéngyǔ xiǎo cídiǎn)
    • 现代汉语规范词典 (xiàndài hànyǔ guīfàn cídiǎn)
    • 多功能成语词典 (duō gōngnéng chéngyǔ cídiǎn)
    • 汉语大词典 (hànyǔ dà cídiǎn)
    • ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary
    • Pleco Basic Chinese-English Dictionary
    • 百度百科[x]