徒劳无功

徒勞無功

túláowúgōng

idiom #29,333

Meanings

1 to work to no avail
2 to labor in vain
3 wasted effort

Characters

in vain; for nothing; on foot

to toil; labor; effort

without; no; nothing

merit; achievement; result

Examples

没有好的策略，所有的努力都是徒劳无功。

Méiyǒu hǎo de cèlüè, suǒyǒu de nǔlì dōu shì túláowúgōng.

Without a good strategy, all the effort is in vain.

他试图说服她，但最终徒劳无功。

Tā shìtú shuōfú tā, dàn zuìzhōng túláowúgōng.

He tried to persuade her, but ultimately to no avail.

Tips

memory

徒 = in vain/for nothing, 劳 = to labor/toil, 无 = no/nothing, 功 = merit/achievement. 'Toiling for nothing with no results' — work that yields zero return.

Stroke Order

徒 tú

劳 láo

无 wú

功 gōng