phí công
Definition
- Adjective / Adverbial Phrase:
- In vain / for nothing / wasted effort: Describes an action, attempt, or expenditure of effort that yields no useful result or achieves nothing. It emphasizes the futility and waste of the time or labor invested.
Usage Examples
- Adjective / Adverbial Phrase:
- Cố gắng sửa cái máy hỏng đó chỉ là phí công thôi. (Trying to fix that broken machine is just a waste of effort.)
- Anh ấy phí công chờ đợi cả buổi sáng. (He waited all morning in vain.)
- Đừng phí công giải thích với người không muốn nghe. (Don't waste your effort explaining to someone who doesn't want to listen.)
Advanced Usage
- The phrase is often used to give advice or to comment critically on a plan or action perceived as futile from the outset.
- Dự án này thiếu nguồn lực, làm tiếp cũng phí công. (This project lacks resources; continuing is futile.)
Variants and Related Words
Phí hoài (adj/adv): in vain, wasted. Often used interchangeably with "phí công" but can sound slightly more colloquial.
- Phí hoài thời gian. (A waste of time.)
Phí sức (adj/adv): wasted strength/energy. Specifically emphasizes the waste of physical effort.
- Khiêng thứ đó lên lầu chỉ phí sức. (Carrying that thing upstairs is just a waste of energy.)
Synonyms
- Futile: incapable of producing any useful result; pointless.
- In vain: without success or a result.
- Wasted effort: labor or attempt that does not achieve its aim.
Related Idioms
Công dã tràng: Literally "the work of the sand crab" (a crab known for tirelessly smoothing sand that is constantly washed away). An idiom meaning futile, Sisyphean labor.
- Việc này khó quá, làm chỉ như công dã tràng. (This task is too difficult; doing it is just futile labor.)
Nước đổ đầu vịt: Literally "water poured on a duck's head." Means advice or effort that has no effect, like water rolling off a duck's back.
- Khuyên nó chỉ như nước đổ đầu vịt, phí công. (Advising him is useless, a waste of effort.)