劳民伤财
láo mín shāng cái
to waste people’s effort and public money
Character by character
劳láo
tire
tire
民mín
people
people
伤shāng
harm
harm
财cái
wealth
wealth
Example
这种面子工程劳民伤财，老百姓一点儿好处也没有。
Vanity projects like this waste effort and money, and ordinary people get nothing out of them.
Tone: negative (criticism).
Usage and origin
The usual verdict on the 1958 steel campaign, and on any showy, useless project today.
Learn this in Lesson 83 · HSK 6–7: 新中国的头三十年 (New China’s first thirty years, 1949–1978)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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