不勞而獲

Chinese

not; no toil
and; as well as; but (not)
and; as well as; but (not); yet (not); (shows causal relation); (shows change of state); (shows contrast)
 
 to catch; to obtain; to capture
trad. (不勞而獲) 不 勞 而 獲
simp. (不劳而获) 不 劳 而 获

Etymology

From Mozi:

今有人於此，入人之場園，取人之桃李瓜薑者，上得且罰之，衆聞則非之，是何也？曰：不與其勞獲其實，已非其有所取之故。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
今有人于此，入人之场园，取人之桃李瓜姜者，上得且罚之，众闻则非之，是何也？曰：不与其劳获其实，已非其有所取之故。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]
From: Mozi, c. 4th century BCE
Jīn yǒurén yú cǐ, rù rén zhī chǎngyuán, qǔ rén zhī táolǐ guā jiāng zhě, shàng dé qiě fá zhī, zhòng wén zé fēi zhī, shì hé yě? Yuē: bù yù qí láo huò qí shí, yǐ fēi qí yǒu suǒ qǔ zhī gù. [Pinyin]
Suppose someone sneaks into an orchard and steals peaches, plums, melons, and gingers. The government officials will punish him when they catch him, and people will condemn him when they hear about it. Why is that? Because the person did not participate in the labour but took the produce and property that do not belong to them.

Pronunciation

Idiom

不勞而獲

  1. to reap without sowing; to live off the toil of other people
    誰不願意一出生就是含著金湯匙的富家子弟，誰不願意不勞而獲？ [MSC, trad.]
    谁不愿意一出生就是含着金汤匙的富家子弟，谁不愿意不劳而获？ [MSC, simp.]
    Shéi bù yuànyì yī chūshēng jiù shì hán zhe jīntāngchí de fùjiā zǐdì, shéi bù yuànyì bùláo'érhuò? [Pinyin]
    Who doesn't want to be a rich kid born with a silver spoon? Who doesn't want to get something for nothing?

Synonyms

Antonyms

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