<p>I disagree with trying to translate English idioms or sentence structures word for word into Chinese. I would suggest that something like this would capture your intended meaning in a more natural way:</p>

<p><code>这几十年来，中国的经济发展了很多，但却牺牲了自然环境。</code></p>

<p>This suggests that the environment was <em>collateral damage</em>. If you wanted to put more emphasis on the extent of environmental destruction as the <em>source</em> of growth:</p>

<p><code>这几十年来，中国牺牲了生态环境，换取经济的快速发展。</code></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-19T06:55:38.483Z
I don't know if I would call it an idiom. "At the expense of" has a very literal meaning.
TheRealFakeNews
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-19T07:09:35.470Z
@tofu_bacon That's why I also said "sentence structure" ;)  I'm not sure which it is, but I just meant in general. Many English phrases don't have a nice fully compatible equivalent in Chinese.
Semaphore
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-18T11:10:48.783Z
2014-08-18T11:10:48.783Z
Semaphore
<p>Replace the original with the following sentence:</p>

<p>..., 可是中國的環境卻付出了很高的代價</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-19T02:53:30.123Z
Is it meant to be 环 not 还?
Ming
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-18T15:15:58.840Z
2014-08-19T13:24:38.233Z
2014-08-19T13:24:38.233Z
George
<p>What we often hear nowadays in the news reports or critics is that “这是以破坏/牺牲环境为代价的”. Hence you can see 'at the expense / cost of' can be translated into '以...为代价'.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-18T10:04:07.497Z
2014-08-18T10:04:07.497Z
woding
<p>這幾十年來, 中國經濟長足增長, 卻為此犧牲了自然生態.</p>

<p>If you want to maintain the order of the clauses, you can add "為此" to emphasize/highlight the relation of the economy and the environment.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-19T06:58:42.780Z
is it awkward to use "为此“ in this way?
TheRealFakeNews
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-19T07:04:32.517Z
I don't think so ....
Henry HO
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-18T15:38:36.217Z
2014-08-18T23:21:02.407Z
2014-08-18T23:21:02.407Z
Henry HO
<p>I want to say the following:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>过了这几十年，中国的经济发展了很多，但是 ［at the expense of]中国的环境。</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I'm not sure if the last part of the sentence is how I would say "at the expense of China's environment"; it was more of a literal translation. </p>

<p>Could someone please help me correctly translate this?</p>

<translation>
How to say "at the expensive/cost of"?
# How to say "at the expensive/cost of"?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-08-18)

I want to say the following:

> 过了这几十年，中国的经济发展了很多，但是 ［at the expense of]中国的环境。

I'm not sure if the last part of the sentence is how I would say "at the expense of China's environment"; it was more of a literal translation.

Could someone please help me correctly translate this?

**Tags:** translation

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## 4 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2014-08-18. Score: 5

I disagree with trying to translate English idioms or sentence structures word for word into Chinese. I would suggest that something like this would capture your intended meaning in a more natural way:

`这几十年来，中国的经济发展了很多，但却牺牲了自然环境。`

This suggests that the environment was *collateral damage*. If you wanted to put more emphasis on the extent of environmental destruction as the *source* of growth:

`这几十年来，中国牺牲了生态环境，换取经济的快速发展。`

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I don't know if I would call it an idiom. "At the expense of" has a very literal meaning.  
> **username_1**: @tofu_bacon That's why I also said "sentence structure" ;)  I'm not sure which it is, but I just meant in general. Many English phrases don't have a nice fully compatible equivalent in Chinese.  

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### Answer by username_2 on 2014-08-18. Score: 3

Replace the original with the following sentence:

..., 可是中國的環境卻付出了很高的代價

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: Is it meant to be 环 not 还?  

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### Answer by username_4 on 2014-08-18. Score: 3

What we often hear nowadays in the news reports or critics is that “这是以破坏/牺牲环境为代价的”. Hence you can see 'at the expense / cost of' can be translated into '以...为代价'.


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### Answer by username_5 on 2014-08-18. Score: 2

這幾十年來, 中國經濟長足增長, 卻為此犧牲了自然生態.

If you want to maintain the order of the clauses, you can add "為此" to emphasize/highlight the relation of the economy and the environment.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: is it awkward to use "为此“ in this way?  
> **username_5**: I don't think so ....  

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