Chinese word

何苦

Pronunciation

Pinyinhé kǔ

Meaning

  • adverbwhy bother

Example

我们何苦为这个问题争论？wǒ men hé kǔ wèi zhè ge wèn tí zhēng lùn

Why should we bother arguing over this issue?

Illustration for 何苦 (why bother)

More examples

既然结果已定，别何苦浪费时间了。jì rán jié guǒ yǐ dìng bié hé kǔ làng fèi shí jiān le

Since the result has already been decided, don't bother wasting time.

Core concept

A dismissive view of taking on trouble for something that does not need to be done.

Common phrases

  • 何苦为难别人hé kǔ wéi nán bié rén

    why bother making things difficult for others

  • 何苦浪费时间hé kǔ làng fèi shí jiān

    why bother wasting time

Similar words

何必hé bì: Why go to the trouble of doing something unnecessary?
用不着yòng bù zháo: Doing something is firmly judged to be unnecessary.
干吗gàn má: A casual spoken way to ask why someone is doing something.

Definition in Chinese

用于表示不必特意去做某事，认为对方为此付出是多余或不值得，常见于反问句或带有感情色彩的陈述中。yòng yú biǎo shì bú bì tè yì qù zuò mǒu shì rèn wéi duì fāng wèi cǐ fù chū shì duō yú huò bù zhí dé cháng jiàn yú fǎn wèn jù huò dài yǒu gǎn qíng sè cǎi de chén shù zhōng

Word origin

何 (hé, "what") + 苦 (kǔ, "hardship") frames an action as taking on hardship without good reason, which gives the adverb its rhetorical force.

Usage tips

  • An English question about cause seeks an explanation, but this expression questions the value of taking the action, so it can sound like criticism rather than neutral curiosity.

Other meanings

  • needlesslyadverb
  • whyadverb

Word lists with this word