shì事effortbèi倍doublegōng功resultbàn半half
Twice the effort, half the result; inefficient.
Literal meaning
effort (事) — double (倍) — result (功) — half (半)
Origin
A classical four-character phrase.
Examples
Zhè这zhǒng种fāng方fǎ法shì事bèi倍gōng功bàn半，yīng应gāi该gǎi改jìn进。
This method is inefficient and should be improved.
Rú如guǒ果xué学xí习fāng方fǎ法bù不duì对，jiù就huì会shì事bèi倍gōng功bàn半。
If the learning method is incorrect, it will be inefficient.
Usage & nuances
Describes a situation where effort is not proportional to the result.
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