患得患失 (huàn dé huàn shī) — to be overly concerned with personal gains and losses; to be swayed by considerations of gain and loss

Definition

A chengyu meaning to obsess over personal gains and losses so much that you can't commit to a decision. Carries a negative judgment on someone who weighs every pro and con too heavily.

idiom
to be overly concerned with personal gains and lossesto be swayed by considerations of gain and loss

Examples

  • 患得患失，。
    Zuò jué dìng shí bú yào huàn dé huàn shī, fǒu zé huì cuò guò hěn duō jī huì.
    Don't be overly concerned with gains and losses when making decisions, or you'll miss many opportunities.
  • 患得患失。
    Tā huàn dé huàn shī de xìng gé ràng tā zài gōng zuò zhōng zǒng shì yóu yù bù jué.
    His personality of being mindful of personal gains and losses makes him always hesitate at work.
  • 患得患失，。
    Rú guǒ nǐ zǒng shì huàn dé huàn shī, jiù hěn nán zhēn zhèng xiǎng shòu shēng huó.
    If you are always swayed by considerations of gain and loss, it's hard to truly enjoy life.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

患得worry about gain
患huànworry得dégain
动宾Verb + object
患失worry about loss
患huànworry失shīloss
动宾Verb + object

Worrying about 得, gain, and 失, loss, together describes anxiety over personal outcomes.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
串
串chuàn患huàn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

患 is made from 心, a heart, plus 串, which gives the sound. Some old explanations also read the upper part as piercing through the heart.

Open 患 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The old form 㝵 showed a hand picking up a cowry, meaning to obtain; later changes turned that picture into 得.

Open 得 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
串
串chuàn患huàn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

患 is made from 心, a heart, plus 串, which gives the sound. Some old explanations also read the upper part as piercing through the heart.

Open 患 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape is explained as a fallen person's footprint surrounded by drops of blood; another reading pairs 手 (hand) and 乙 to show something falling from a hand.

Open 失 →

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