all in vain; futile effort
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesidiom
all in vain; complete waste of effort; to come to nothing
Often used with verbs like '落个', '变成', or '成为' to indicate that efforts have yielded no result. The measure word 场 (cháng) here implies a complete spell or session of activity.
Tā他
xīn辛
kǔ苦
le了
yī一
nián年
，
dào到
tóu头
lái来
què却
shì是
yī一
cháng场
kōng空
。
He worked hard for a whole year, but in the end it was all in vain.
Rú如
guǒ果
bù不
zuò做
hǎo好
zhǔn准
bèi备
，
zhè这
cì次
lǚ旅
xíng行
kě可
néng能
huì会
biàn变
chéng成
yī一
cháng场
kōng空
。
If you don't prepare well, this trip might turn into a wasted effort.
Show 1 more exampleShow fewer examples
Tā他
suǒ所
yǒu有
de的
jì计
huà划
dōu都
chéng成
le了
yī一
cháng场
kōng空
。
All his plans came to nothing.