Definition & Meaning

work hard but to no avail; toil with no gain; all one's efforts came to naught

láo ér wú gōng

劳 而 无 功

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slwork hard but to no avail; toil with no gain; all one's efforts came to naught
- tā pài wǒ men qù gàn yī jiàn láo ér wú gōng de chāi shǐ
  他派我们去干一件劳而无功的差使。
  He sent us on a wild-goose chase.
- lǎo shī suī jìn lì kāi dǎo què láo ér wú gōng wǒ réng xiàng yǐ qián yī yàng hú tú
  老师虽尽力开导却劳而无功，我仍像以前一样糊涂。
  The teacher's attempts at enlightenment failed. I remained as confused as before.
synonym
tú láo wú gōng徒劳无功 tú láo wú yì徒劳无益 shuǐ zhōng lāo yuè水中捞月
antonym
xíng zhī yǒu xiào行之有效 zhuó yǒu chéng xiào卓有成效

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