TongTong
Sign in

白白 (bái bái) — in vain, for nothing, to no purpose

Definition

白白 is an adverb meaning 'in vain, for nothing' — focuses on wasted effort or unnecessary worry, unlike 无效 which describes something officially invalid or ineffective.

adverb
in vainfor nothingto no purpose

Examples

  • ，白白，。
    Tā xīn kǔ le yì zhěng tiān, bái bái gān le sān tiān, jié guǒ lǎo bǎn bú fù qián.
    He worked hard for three days in vain, and in the end the boss didn't pay.
  • 白白，。
    Bié bái bái dān xīn le, shì qing yǐ jīng jiě jué le.
    Don't worry for nothing — the matter has been resolved.
  • ，白白。
    Rú guǒ xiàn zài fàng qì, zhī qián de nǔ lì jiù bái bái làng fèi le.
    If you give up now, all your previous effort will be wasted for nothing.

Origin

Reduplicated word
构词法gòucífǎ
重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

白báifor nothing
白báifor nothing

Doubles 白 (for nothing) to stress that effort leads to no result.

Characters in this word

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

白 is thought to picture either an acorn or a human head.

Open 白 →

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

白 is thought to picture either an acorn or a human head.

Open 白 →

Grammar

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6

Browse more HSK 6 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.