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徒然 (tú rán) — in vain; to no avail; merely; only

Definition

A formal, written adverb meaning 'in vain' or 'merely' — used in essays and formal prose, not everyday speech. Both senses ('without result' and 'only/just') share a tone of futility or pointlessness.

adverb
in vainto no availmerelyonly

Examples

  • ，徒然。
    Tā nǔ lì le bàn tiān, jié guǒ tú rán làng fèi le shí jiān.
    He tried hard for a long time, but in the end it was a waste of time.
  • 徒然，。
    Zhè tú rán shì yí gè jiè kǒu, bú shì zhēn zhèng de yuán yīn.
    This is merely an excuse, not the real reason.
  • 徒然，。
    Wǒ men tú rán hào le yì zhěng tiān, shén me yě méi zuò chéng.
    We wasted an entire day in vain and accomplished nothing.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

徒túempty; in vain
然ráncompleting the word

徒 gives the sense of empty or vain, and 然 finishes it into the word meaning 'in vain' or 'merely'.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
肰
肰rán然rán
Same sound today

然 is made from 肰, which gives the sound, and 火, which shows fire, matching the old sense 'to burn'.

Open 然 →
Appears in
Abstract ConceptsSuccess & Failure

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