saai1 sam1 gei1嘥心機嘥心机
Jyutpingsaai1 sam1 gei1
Yalesāai sām gēi
Definition
To waste one's time, effort, or mental energy with no result or reward.
colloquialdaily actionsemotion
How it's used
Focuses on the emotional or mental toll of pursuing a futile task rather than just the loss of time. It implies that the person is actively exerting effort or thought into something that will never yield a positive result. Use it to advise someone to stop pursuing a lost cause.
Examples
It is a waste of effort to reason with him.
Doing this is such a waste of effort, why not just forget it?
Related words
Common phrases
completely a waste of effort
it's just a waste of effort
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 嘥氣, which specifically refers to wasting one's breath or energy in a verbal argument. 嘥心機 is broader and applies to any situation where mental effort is being squandered.
Grammar color guide
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Grammar guides
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
