wear out the people and drain the treasury; waste manpower and money
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesidiom
to wear out the people and waste money; to be wasteful and burdensome
formalCriticizes projects or actions that impose a heavy burden on the populace and squander resources, often with little benefit.
Zhè这
xiàng项
miàn面
zi子
gōng工
chéng程
láo劳
mín民
shāng伤
cái财
，
zāo遭
dào到
le了
mín民
zhòng众
de的
qiáng强
liè烈
fǎn反
duì对
。
This vanity project is wasteful and burdensome and has met with strong public opposition.
Gǔ古
dài代
xiū修
jiàn建
xǔ许
duō多
jù巨
dà大
de的
líng陵
mù墓
，
wǎng往
wǎng往
shì是
láo劳
mín民
shāng伤
cái财
zhī之
jǔ举
。
In ancient times, building many enormous tombs was often an act that exhausted the people and drained the treasury.
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Zhèng政
fǔ府
yīng应
bì避
miǎn免
chū出
tái台
nà那
xiē些
láo劳
mín民
shāng伤
cái财
de的
zhèng政
cè策
。
The government should avoid introducing policies that waste both manpower and financial resources.