徒劳无益 (tú láo wú yì) — futile effort, pointless exertion, labor in vain

Definition

A chengyu meaning effort that is both 'futile' and 'useless' — wasted labor that brings no result. Stronger than plain 没有用: it stresses that the work itself was pointless, not just unsuccessful.

idiom
futile effortpointless exertionlabor in vain

Examples

  • 徒劳无益，。
    Nǐ zhè yàng zuò wán quán shì tú láo wú yì, tā bú huì huí xīn zhuǎn yì de.
    What you're doing is completely futile — he won't change his mind.
  • 徒劳无益，。
    Yǔ qí tú láo wú yì dì bào yuàn, bù rú xiǎng bàn fǎ jiě jué wèn tí.
    Instead of complaining futilely, it's better to think of a way to solve the problem.
  • ，徒劳无益，。
    Tā shì tú shuō fú lǎo bǎn, dàn tú láo wú yì, lǎo bǎn yǐ jīng jué dìng le.
    He tried to persuade the boss, but it was futile — the boss had already decided.

Origin

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 →

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 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

益 puts 水 (water) above 皿 (a vessel), originally showing water overflowing the vessel.

Open 益 →

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