Why bother / no need (何苦/何须)

Structure 何苦 + Verb + (呢)？ · 何须 + Verb

何苦 (hékǔ) and 何须 (héxū) are two cultivated rhetorical questions that advise AGAINST doing something — the older siblings of 何必 (hébì, HSK 4). 何苦 stresses wasted SUFFERING or effort: "why put yourself through…?" — 何苦为小事生气 = "why get upset over a trifle?". 何须 denies NECESSITY: "there's no need to…, what need is there to…?" — 既已决定，何须再犹豫 = "once it's decided, why keep hesitating?". Both are pure rhetoric: the question amounts to a denial and expects no answer. 何须 is markedly literary; 何苦 also lives in cultivated speech and often closes with 呢.

Examples

何hé苦kǔ为wèi这zhè点diǎn小xiǎo事shì跟gēn他tā生shēng气qì呢ne？
Why make yourself miserable getting angry at him over such a trifle?
既jì已yǐ决jué定dìng，何hé须xū再zài三sān犹yóu豫yù？
Once the decision is made, what need is there to keep hesitating?
事shì实shí俱jù在zài，何hé须xū多duō言yán。
The facts speak for themselves; there's no need to say more.
你nǐ何hé苦kǔ把bǎ所suǒ有yǒu责zé任rèn都dōu揽lǎn到dào自zì己jǐ身shēn上shàng？
Why take all the blame onto yourself?

Levels are indicative: they follow the standard Chinese Grammar Wiki (AllSet Learning) progression, not an official HSK 3.0 mapping. We never assign levels by eye.

This point and the other 370, with audio on every example, inside Wanyu.