多此一举 duō cǐ yī jǔ unnecessary action

Explanation

指做了多余的事，没有必要。

Refers to an unnecessary or redundant action.

Origin Story

从前，有个秀才，为了参加科举考试，他日夜苦读，认真复习。临考前，他觉得自己准备得已经很充分了，但他还是觉得不放心，又把所有书都从头到尾看了一遍，还把所有笔记又抄写了一遍。考完试后，他认为自己这次考试一定能考中，因为他的努力和付出超过了其他人。但是考试结果出来后，他落榜了。他百思不得其解，觉得自己已经竭尽全力了，为什么还是没有考中呢？后来，一位老先生告诉他，你复习的时候，已经准备充分了，你后来做的这些努力，只是多此一举而已，你应该把时间用来休息和调整状态，那样的话，说不定考试成绩会更好。

cóngqián, yǒu ge xiùcai, wèile cānjia kējǔ kǎoshì, tā rìyè kǔ dú, rènzhēn fùxí. lín kǎo qián, tā juéde zìjǐ zhǔnbèi de yǐjīng hěn chōngfèn le, dàn tā háishi juéde bù fàngxīn, yòu bǎ suǒyǒu shū dōu cóng tóu dào wěi kàn le yībiàn, hái bǎ suǒyǒu bǐjì yòu chāoxiě le yībiàn. kǎo wán shì hòu, tā rènwéi zìjǐ zhè cì kǎoshì yīdìng néng kǎo zhōng, yīnwèi tā de nǔlì hé fùchū chāoguò le qítā rén. dànshì kǎoshì jiéguǒ chūlái hòu, tā luò bǎng le. tā bǎisī bùdé qí jiě, juéde zìjǐ yǐjīng jiéjìn quánlì le, wèishénme háishi méiyǒu kǎo zhōng ne? hòulái, yī wèi lǎo xiānshēng gàosù tā, nǐ fùxí de shíhòu, yǐjīng zhǔnbèi chōngfèn le, nǐ hòulái zuò de zhèxiē nǔlì, zhǐshì duō cǐ yī jǔ éryǐ, nǐ yīnggāi bǎ shíjiān yòng lái xiūxí hé tiáozhěng zhuàngtài, nà yàng de huà, shuo bùdìng kǎoshì chéngjī huì gèng hǎo.

Once upon a time, there was a scholar who studied day and night to prepare for the imperial examination. Before the exam, he felt he was well-prepared, but he was still uneasy, so he reread all the books and copied all his notes again. After the exam, he thought he would definitely pass, as he had put in more effort than others. However, when the results were released, he failed. He was puzzled and couldn't understand why he hadn't passed despite his best efforts. Later, an old man told him that after being well prepared, his extra efforts were superfluous. He should have used the time to rest and adjust his state; then maybe his exam results would have been better.

Usage

用于形容多余的、不必要的行为或举动。

yòng yú xíngróng duōyú de, bù bìyào de xíngwéi huò jǔdòng

Used to describe unnecessary or redundant actions or behaviors.

Examples

• 他这样做完全是多此一举。

  tā zhèyàng zuò wánquán shì duō cǐ yī jǔ

  It's entirely unnecessary for him to do so.

• 与其多此一举，不如从长计议。

  yúqí duō cǐ yī jǔ, bùrú cóng cháng jì yì

  Rather than doing this extra step, we should think about it carefully.

• 为了确保万无一失，他反复检查，其实有些多此一举。

  wèile quèbǎo wànwúyīshī, tā fǎnfù jiǎnchá, qíshí yǒuxiē duō cǐ yī jǔ

  To ensure nothing goes wrong, he checked repeatedly, which was actually quite unnecessary.

Related Idioms

• 画蛇添足

• 费力不讨好

Opposite Idioms

• 必不可少

• 不可或缺