dé​bù​chóu​shī

the gain does not make up for the loss

Senses

得不酬失 dé​bù​chóu​shī the gain does not make up for the loss

The cost or effort put into something is greater than the resulting benefit; more is lost than gained.

References

same_as 得不酬失/得不酬失 得不偿失/得不償失
same_as 得不酬失/得不酬失 得不补失/得不補失
variant 得不偿失/得不償失 得不酬失/得不酬失
same_as 得不补失/得不補失 得不酬失/得不酬失