くたびれ儲もうけ

く

た

び

れ

も

う

け

Meanings

1

noun

waste of effort; thankless task

usually written using kana alone

Describes a situation where one's hard work yields little or no reward, or a task that brings no gratitude. Often used in the phrase くたびれ儲けに終わる.

せっかく準じゅん備びしたのに、誰だれも来こなくてくたびれ儲もうけだった。
I went to all that trouble preparing, but nobody came, so it was a waste of effort.

この仕し事ごとはくたびれ儲もうけで、感かん謝しゃされることもない。

This job is a thankless task; nobody ever appreciates it.

Written forms

くたびれ儲もうけUsage27%
Mixed kanji-kana spelling; usually written in kana.
くたびれもうけUsage73%
Kana spelling; the word is usually written using kana alone.
草臥くたびれ儲もうけ
Full kanji spelling; rarely used in modern writing.
草臥儲くたびれもうけ
Abbreviated kanji spelling; very rare.

Kanji

儲be profitable, yield profit
草grass, weeds, herbs
臥bend down, bow, lie prostrate

Similar words

骨ほね折おり損ぞん
Similar meaning of wasted effort, but 骨折り損 emphasizes physical toil and loss, while くたびれ儲け focuses on fatigue and lack of reward.
徒と労ろう
More formal and literary term for fruitless effort; くたびれ儲け is colloquial and often carries a nuance of personal weariness.

Etymology

Compound of くたびれ (fatigue, from verb くたびれる) and 儲け (profit, from verb 儲ける). Literally 'fatigue profit', it ironically refers to gaining nothing but tiredness from one's efforts.