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徒劳 (tú láo) — to be futile, to be in vain

Definition

verb
to be futileto be in vain

Examples

  • 徒劳。
    Tā de nǔ lì dōu tú láo le.
    His efforts were all futile.
  • 徒劳。
    Zhè shì yí cì tú láo de xíng dòng.
    This is a futile action.
  • 徒劳。
    Bú yào zuò tú láo de shì qing.
    Don't do futile things.

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.

徒túempty
劳láolabor

徒 modifies 劳, meaning futile labor.

Characters in this word

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
土
土tǔ徒tú
Same sound today

徒 originally paired 辵, a walking sign, with 土 to show its sound. The shape later changed into 彳 and 走.

Open 徒 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 勞; 劳 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lì
Sound part声符shēngfú
𬡤
𬡤𬡤勞láo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 勞 uses 力 for the meaning and 𬡤 for the sound; the simplified 劳 is a later shortened shape.

Open 劳 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Success & Failure

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