元も子もない

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Japanese

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Kanji in this term
もと
Grade: 2

Grade: 1
kun'yomi

Etymology

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Literally "to have neither principal (元金) nor interest (利子).".

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [mo̞to̞ mo̞ ko̞ mo̞ na̠i]

Adjective

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(もと)()もない (moto mo ko mo nai-i (adverbial (もと)()もなく (moto mo ko mo naku))

  1. causing further loss when already failing to bring any benefit; backfiring

Inflection

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