吃力不讨好 laborious and thankless
Explanation
费力却得不到好结果，形容事情很棘手或方法不对头。
To put in effort but get no good results; to describe something difficult or the wrong method.
Origin Story
从前，有个农夫，他的田地里长满了杂草。他想把杂草清理干净，于是就拿着锄头，一棵一棵地把杂草拔掉。他辛辛苦苦地干了一整天，却只清理了一小块地方，而且腰酸背痛，十分疲惫。第二天，他继续努力，可还是收效甚微。邻居看到他这样辛苦却得不到好结果，就建议他使用除草剂。农夫听了邻居的建议，立刻购买了除草剂，喷洒在杂草上。没过几天，杂草都枯死了，农夫轻松地完成了除草工作。这个故事告诉我们，有些事情虽然看起来简单，但如果方法不对，就会事倍功半，甚至吃力不讨好。
Once upon a time, there was a farmer whose field was overgrown with weeds. He wanted to clear the weeds, so he took a hoe and pulled out each weed one by one. He worked hard all day, but only cleared a small area, and his back ached and he was very tired. The next day, he continued to work hard, but still with little success. A neighbor saw how hard he worked without getting good results and suggested that he use herbicide. The farmer listened to his neighbor's advice, immediately bought herbicide, and sprayed it on the weeds. After a few days, the weeds were dead and the farmer easily completed the weeding. This story tells us that some things, though they may seem simple, if the method is wrong, will lead to poor results, or even be futile.
Usage
用于形容费力却得不到好结果的情况。
Used to describe situations where one puts in effort but gets no good results.
Examples
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他为了这件事费尽心力，结果却吃力不讨好，真是让人惋惜。
tā wèile zhè jiàn shì fèi jìn xīnlì, jiéguǒ què chī lì bù tǎo hǎo, zhēnshi ràng rén wǎnxī。
He spent a lot of effort on this matter, but it was to no avail and he didn't get any thanks. It's really a pity.
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做好事不求回报，但也不能总是吃力不讨好。
zuò hǎoshì bù qiú huí bào, dàn yě bù néng zǒngshì chī lì bù tǎo hǎo。
Doing good deeds without expecting a reward is good, but you shouldn't always work hard for nothing.
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不要总做一些吃力不讨好的事情。
bù yào zǒng zuò yīxiē chī lì bù tǎo hǎo de shìqíng。
Don't always do things that are futile.