无利可图 (wú lì kě tú) — profitless; yielding no benefit; not worth doing (because there's nothing to gain)

Definition

A set phrase meaning a venture is not worth doing because it offers no profit. Functionally a fixed resultative idiom, not a productive verb.

verb
profitlessyielding no benefitnot worth doing (because there's nothing to gain)

Examples

  • 无利可图，。
    Zhè ge shēng yì wú lì kě tú, méi rén yuàn yì zuò.
    This business is profitless; no one is willing to do it.
  • 无利可图，？
    Rú guǒ wú lì kě tú, wǒ men wèi shén me yào làng fèi shí jiān?
    If there's nothing to gain, why should we waste time?
  • 无利可图，。
    Tā zuò zhè jiàn shì wán quán wú lì kě tú, chún cuì shì bāng máng.
    He did this with no benefit at all; it was purely to help.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

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

利 combines 禾 (grain) and 刀 (knife), showing a knife used to cut grain.

Open 利 →

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
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
丂
丂kǎo可kě
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

可 pairs 口 (mouth) with 丂 as a sound part; it is tied to air from the mouth, perhaps singing.

Open 可 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 圖; 图 is its simplified writing.

  • 囗囗wéiwalled city
  • 啚啚bǐ

The traditional form 圖 pairs 囗, a walled city, with 啚, an early form meaning remote areas or territory. The simplified 图 is a later abbreviation.

Open 图 →

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