tiếc công
Definition
- Phrase (Expressing Regret):
- To regret the wasted effort: To feel disappointment or sorrow because the work, time, or effort one has invested has not yielded the desired or expected result. It emphasizes the sense of loss related to the expended labor.
- To be unwilling to expend effort (sparing one's labor): To hesitate or be reluctant to put in work or effort, often due to a fear that it will be futile or not properly appreciated. This meaning focuses on the conservation of effort before it is spent.
Usage Examples
Regret the wasted effort:
- Chúng tôi đã làm việc cả tháng, giờ hủy dự án thật tiếc công. (We worked for a whole month; canceling the project now is a real waste of effort.)
- Tôi tiếc công sửa cái máy này. Nó vẫn không chạy. (I regret the effort I put into fixing this machine. It still doesn't work.)
Be unwilling to expend effort:
- Đừng tiếc công, hãy đầu tư hết mình vào việc học. (Don't spare your effort; invest fully in your studies.)
- Anh ấy tiếc công không muốn giúp vì nghĩ sẽ chẳng được cảm ơn. (He is reluctant to help because he thinks he won't even be thanked.)
Advanced Usage
- The phrase often implies a calculation of cost (effort) versus benefit (result). It is used to comment on the efficiency or fruitlessness of an endeavor.
- It can express a warning or encouragement, advising someone either to avoid a futile task or to proceed without fearing wasted work.
Variants and Related Words
- Tiếc (v): to regret, to feel sorry about something lost or missed.
- Công (n): work, labor, effort.
- Tiếc của: to regret the wasted money or goods (focus on material loss rather than effort).
Synonyms
- Regret the effort: feel sorry for the work wasted, rue the labor.
- Begrudge the work: be reluctant to give or expend effort.
Related Idioms
- Tiếc công tiếc sức: to regret the wasted work and strength. This is an intensified form emphasizing the physical and mental effort expended.
- Tiếc công tiếc sức dạy dỗ nó mà nó chẳng nghe. (It's a waste of all the effort and energy spent teaching him; he doesn't listen.)
- Công toi: effort gone to waste; a noun phrase describing the result of wasted work.
- Mọi nỗ lực thành công toi. (All efforts came to nothing.)