mất công
Definition
- Phrase:
- To waste one's effort / to have one's trouble be in vain: Indicates that the time, energy, or work someone invested did not lead to the desired result, rendering the effort pointless.
- To go to the trouble (only to be disappointed): Often used to express that someone undertook a difficult or tedious task, but the outcome was not worth the effort expended.
Usage Examples
- Phrase:
- Tôi sửa cái máy tính cả buổi, cuối cùng mất công. (I spent the whole afternoon fixing the computer, and it was all for nothing in the end.)
- Đừng mất công giải thích với anh ta. (Don't waste your effort explaining to him.)
- Cô ấy mất công nấu một bữa ăn thịnh soạn, nhưng không ai về ăn. (She went to the trouble of cooking a lavish meal, but no one came home to eat it.)
Advanced Usage
- The phrase is commonly used to give advice or warnings against futile actions, or to express regret or frustration over wasted effort.
- It can be used in the past tense to describe a completed vain effort, or in the imperative to advise against a future one.
Variants and Related Words
Mất thì giờ / Mất thời gian: To waste time.
- Việc này chỉ mất thời gian thôi. (This just wastes time.)
Mất sức: To expend energy/strength (often with a sense of it being wasted).
- Làm việc đó mất sức lắm. (Doing that work takes/uses up a lot of energy.)
Synonyms
- In vain: Without success or a result.
- Futile: Incapable of producing any useful result; pointless.
- Waste one's time/effort: To use time or energy without purpose or gain.
Related Idioms and Patterns
Mất công mất sức: To waste both effort and strength; emphasizes the totality of wasted resources.
- Dọn dẹp căn phòng bừa bộn ấy thật mất công mất sức. (Cleaning that messy room is a complete waste of effort and energy.)
Có công mà mất công: To have one's hard work come to nothing. Contrasts initial effort with final futility.
- Anh ấy xây dựng doanh nghiệp từ hai bàn tay trắng, giờ phá sản, thật có công mà mất công. (He built the business from scratch, now it's bankrupt—all that hard work has come to nothing.)