IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchLe jeu n'en vaut pas la chandelle
Meaning: The effort or cost outweighs anything to be gained.
Literally: The game is not worth the candle
Example: “Trois heures de route pour économiser dix euros, le jeu n'en vaut pas la chandelle.” — Three hours' drive to save ten euros? The game is not worth the candle.
English equivalent: The game is not worth the candle
Equivalents in other languages
English: the game is not worth the candle
Spanish: Sale más caro el collar que el perro Literally: The collar costs more than the dog
Italian: Il gioco non vale la candela Literally: The game isn't worth the candle
Japanese: 労多くして功少なし (Rō ōkushite kō sukunashi) Literally: Much toil, little merit
Dutch: Het sop is de kool niet waard Literally: The broth isn't worth the cabbage
Polish: Gra niewarta świeczki Literally: The game isn't worth the candle
Russian: Игра не стоит свеч (Igra ne stoit svech) Literally: The game isn't worth the candles
Chinese: 得不偿失 (Dé bù cháng shī) Literally: The gain doesn't make up for the loss
Origin: Gambling in the evening required a candle, which players paid for. If the stakes were small enough that the winnings would not cover the lighting, the game was literally not worth playing.
More French idioms
- La cheville ouvrière The linchpin — the person or thing on which an entire operation turns.
- Une chiffe molle A spineless person with no will of their own.
- Être au septième ciel To be in a state of perfect happiness.
- Mettre la clé sous la porte To shut up shop; to go out of business.
- Ne pas être grand clerc Not to be much of an expert — used to say that no expertise is needed to see something.
- Déménager à la cloche de bois To do a moonlight flit, leaving without paying the rent.
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- Tête de mule An impossibly stubborn person who refuses to change their mind no matter what.
- C'est une vraie chèvre They're hopelessly stubborn and infuriating — a goat that refuses to be moved.
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