不无小补 bù wú xiǎo bǔ Not without some help

Explanation

指对事情的帮助或益处虽小，但多少还是有一点。

Refers to a small but still somewhat present contribution or benefit.

Origin Story

话说唐朝时期，有一个叫李白的诗人，他非常喜欢喝酒，常常喝得醉醺醺的。有一天，他与朋友们在酒楼饮酒作乐，喝到兴头上，他突然想起了自己家里的事情，于是便匆匆忙忙地回家了。当他回到家，发现家里的柴火已经用完了。这时，他看到邻居王大娘正在烧火做饭，便向她借了一些柴火。王大娘二话没说，就给了他一些柴火。李白拿到柴火后，非常感激，对王大娘说道：“感谢王大娘的帮助，虽然只是一些柴火，但也对我这个快要冻死的人不无小补啊！”王大娘笑着说道：“举手之劳，不用客气！”后来，李白将这件事情写进了自己的诗歌中，以表达对王大娘的感谢之情。

huà shuō táng cháo shí qī, yǒu yīgè jiào lǐ bái de shī rén, tā fēicháng xǐhuan hē jiǔ, chángcháng hē de zuì xūn xūn de. yǒu yītiān, tā yǔ péngyǒumen zài jiǔlóu yǐnjiǔ zuò lè, hē dào xīng tóu shàng, tā tūrán xiǎng qǐ le zìjǐ jiā lǐ de shìqíng, yúshì biàn cōngcōng mángmáng de huí jiā le. dāng tā huí dào jiā, fāxiàn jiā lǐ de cháihuǒ yǐjīng yòng wán le. zhè shí, tā kàn dào línjū wáng dà niáng zhèngzài shāo huǒ zuò fàn, biàn xiàng tā jiè le yīxiē cháihuǒ. wáng dà niáng èrhua méi shuō, jiù gěi le tā yīxiē cháihuǒ. lǐ bái ná dào cháihuǒ hòu, fēicháng gǎnjī, duì wáng dà niáng shuō dào: ‘gǎnxiè wáng dà niáng de bāngzhù, suīrán zhǐshì yīxiē cháihuǒ, dànyě duì wǒ zhège kuài yào dòng sǐ de rén bù wú xiǎo bǔ a!’ wáng dà niáng xiàozhe shuō dào: ‘jǔ shǒu zhī láo, bùyòng kèqì!’ hòulái, lǐ bái jiāng zhè jiàn shìqíng xiě jìng le zìjǐ de shīgē zhōng, yǐ biǎodá duì wáng dà niáng de gǎnxiè zhī qíng.

It is said that during the Tang Dynasty, there was a poet named Li Bai, who was very fond of drinking and often got drunk. One day, he was drinking and having fun with his friends at a tavern when he suddenly remembered his family matters and hurried home. When he returned home, he found that the firewood had run out. At this time, he saw his neighbor, Mrs. Wang, cooking, so he borrowed some firewood from her. Mrs. Wang gave him some firewood without saying a word. Li Bai was very grateful and said to Mrs. Wang: "Thank you, Mrs. Wang, for your help. Although it's just some firewood, it's still not insignificant to me who's about to freeze to death!" Mrs. Wang smiled and said, "It's no trouble at all, you're welcome!" Later, Li Bai wrote this incident into his poems to express his gratitude to Mrs. Wang.

Usage

常用来形容对事情的帮助或益处虽小，但多少还是有一点。

cháng yòng lái xíngróng duì shìqíng de bāngzhù huò yì chù suī xiǎo, dàn duōshǎo háishì yǒu yī diǎn.

Used to describe a small but still somewhat present contribution or benefit.

Examples

• 虽然只是微薄之力，但也算是不无小补。

  suīrán zhǐshì wēibó zhī lì, dànyě suàn shì bù wú xiǎo bǔ

  Although it's only a small contribution, it's still not insignificant.

• 他的建议对我们的工作不无小补。

  tā de jiànyì duì wǒmen de gōngzuò bù wú xiǎo bǔ

  His suggestion has helped our work quite a bit

Related Idioms

• 略有帮助

• 小有成效

Opposite Idioms

• 毫无帮助

• 毫无益处