徒劳

tú láo

in vain

他的努力最终徒劳无功。

His efforts were ultimately in vain.

general

Wasted effort; futile or unproductive work.

尽管他花了很多时间准备，但最终的结果还是徒劳的。

Although he spent a lot of time preparing, the final result was still in vain.

不要徒劳地争论，因为这不会改变任何事情。

Don't argue in vain, because it won't change anything.

Often used to describe efforts that fail to achieve the desired outcome.

Collocations

in vain

wasted effort

Use '徒劳' to emphasize that an action or effort was unsuccessful or pointless.

While '徒劳' can be translated as 'in vain,' it often carries a stronger sense of disappointment or frustration compared to English equivalents.

Composed of '徒' (empty, vain) and '劳' (labor, effort), literally meaning 'empty labor' or 'fruitless effort'.

Commonly used to describe efforts that do not yield the expected results, often with a sense of disappointment or frustration.

徒

empty, vain

root

劳

labor, effort

root

汉英词典