讨好 (tǎo hǎo) — to curry favor with, to fawn on, to ingratiate oneself with; (in 费力不讨好) to get no thanks for one's efforts, a thankless task
Definition
讨好 is fawning to win someone's favor, often in a servile, insincere way — stronger and more negative than 迎合 ('cater/pander to', neutral or strategic). It also appears in the set phrase 费力不讨好 for a thankless task.
verb
to curry favor withto fawn onto ingratiate oneself with(in 费力不讨好) to get no thanks for one's effortsa thankless task
Examples
- ，讨好。Tā wèi le shēng zhí, zǒng shì tǎo hǎo jīng lǐ.He always fawns on the manager in order to get promoted.
- 讨好，。Zhè jiàn shì zhēn shì fèi lì bù tǎo hǎo, zuò le yě méi rén gǎn xiè.This task is really a thankless one — even if you do it, nobody thanks you.
- 讨好，。Nǐ zhè yàng tǎo hǎo tā, fǎn ér ràng tā jué de nǐ bù kě xìn.Fawning over her like this actually makes her think you're untrustworthy.
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