toil in vain; futile effort; waste effort
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesverb
to waste effort; to toil in vain; to exert oneself for nothing
Describes efforts that yield no results or are completely pointless. Often used in the structure 徒劳 + verb or in set phrases like 徒劳无功.
Nǐ你
zhè这
yàng样
zhǐ只
shì是
tú徒
láo劳
wǎng往
fǎn返
。
You are just making a futile round trip.
Méi没
yǒu有
zhèng正
què确
de的
fāng方
fǎ法
，
nǔ努
lì力
yě也
shì是
tú徒
láo劳
。
Without the right method, hard work is in vain.
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Bié别
zài再
tú徒
láo劳
le了
，
zhè这
shì是
bù不
kě可
néng能
wán完
chéng成
de的
rèn任
wu务
。
Stop wasting your effort; this is an impossible task.