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HSK 2.0 Level 6+ HSK 3.0 Level 7–9+ 6 min read

犯不着 and 犯得着 for “It’s Not Worth It”

Use 犯不着 to say something isn’t worth doing, and 犯得着…吗？ to ask the same thing as a rhetorical question.

Pattern

犯不着 + verb phrase ／ 犯得着 + verb phrase + 吗？

Both mean “it isn’t worth it”: 犯不着 says it directly, and 犯得着…吗？ says it as a rhetorical question.

为这点小事犯不着生气。

When to use 犯不着 and 犯得着 for “It’s Not Worth It”

犯不着 and 犯得着 are colloquial verbs that judge whether an action is worth the trouble. 犯不着 + verb phrase means “it’s not worth …, there’s no need to …”: 为这点小事犯不着生气. 犯得着 is almost always used in a rhetorical question, 犯得着…吗？, which also means “it’s not worth it”: 犯得着为这点小事生气吗？ The thing that is not worth it is usually a strong reaction or extra effort (getting angry, worrying, travelling far). Both are written with neutral 不 and 得 in the middle.

为这点小事犯不着生气，大家都是好朋友。

It’s not worth getting angry over such a small thing; we’re all good friends.

这么近，犯得着打车吗？走路十分钟就到了。

It’s so close, why take a taxi? It’s only a ten-minute walk.

东西又不贵，犯不着跑那么远去买。

It isn’t expensive, so there’s no point going all that way to buy it.

一次小测验，犯得着紧张成这样吗？

It’s just a little quiz; is it worth getting so nervous?

Common traps

  • Don’t use 犯得着 in a plain statement; it belongs in a rhetorical question: 犯得着…吗？
  • 犯不着 only gives a negative judgement; for “worth seeing” use 值得, not 犯得着.
  • These are casual words; in a formal report write 没有必要 instead.

Targeted drill

Practice this exact pattern before moving on.

东西又不贵， 跑那么远去买

It isn’t expensive, so there’s no point going all that way to buy it
Fill in the missing piece, then press Enter

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