无用功 (wú yòng gōng) — useless work; wasted effort

Definition

A fixed phrase meaning work or effort that produces no result. Unlike 白费 (wasted, in vain) which describes a single act, 无用功 emphasizes effort that is futile from the start.

noun

useless workwasted effort

Examples

无用功，。
Tā zuò le hěn duō wú yòng gōng, zuì hòu hái shì shī bài le.
He did a lot of useless work, and in the end he still failed.
无用功。
Bié zài zhè yàng de xiǎo shì shàng làng fèi wú yòng gōng le.
Don't waste your effort on such trivial matters.
无用功，。
Zhè cì shí yàn wán quán shì wú yòng gōng, méi yǒu rèn hé xīn fā xiàn.
This experiment was entirely wasted effort, with no new discoveries.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

无用useless

无wúwithout用yònguse

动宾Verb + object

功gōngwork

无 without, 用 use, 功 work: work that has no use.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

用 was formed by adding a handle to an earlier form.

Open 用 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

工力功

Meaning part形符xíngfú

力力lìstrength

Sound part声符shēngfú

工

工gōng功gōng

Same sound today