Chinese idiom · 成语
损人不利己
Meaning
Harm others, no gain to self; pointless malice.
Character by character
Origin and story
Literary usageThe wording means harming another person without gaining anything oneself. A documented occurrence is in chapter five of the Qing satirical novel He Dian, where such conduct is named among familiar human faults. This is an attestation of the expression, not evidence that the novel invented the idea.
The added bu is essential: sun ren li ji means harming others for personal gain, whereas this phrase denies even that gain. Earlier moral sayings criticizing profit at others' expense are related in topic but should not be quoted as though they contained this version. The expression often condemns pointless spite or an action that needlessly makes everyone worse off.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
故意删掉共享文件，只会耽误整个团队，真是损人不利己。
Deliberately deleting the shared file only delays the whole team—hurting others without helping yourself.
Condemns harm that brings the perpetrator no benefit; keep 不 in the meaning.