Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Useless, futile, unproductive: Describes an action, activity, or thing that yields no useful result, benefit, or value. It emphasizes the lack of a positive or meaningful outcome.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Đừng lãng phí thời gian vào những cuộc tranh luận vô bổ. (Don't waste time on futile arguments.)
  • Công việc này thật vô bổ; nó chẳng đem lại kết quả gì. (This work is truly useless; it yields no results.)
  • Anh ấy cảm thấy việc mình làm thật vô bổ. (He feels that what he is doing is pointless.)

Advanced Usage

• "vô bổ" in formal critique: Used to describe intellectual or creative endeavors deemed to lack substance or purpose.
  • Bài nghiên cứu đó bị phê bình là vô bổ và thiếu tính học thuật. (That research paper was criticized as being futile and lacking in academic rigor.)
• "cảm giác vô bổ": The feeling of pointlessness or futility.
  • Sau nhiều năm cố gắng không thành, cô ấy chìm trong cảm giác vô bổ. (After years of unsuccessful attempts, she was engulfed by a feeling of futility.)

Variants and Related Words

• Vô ích (adj): Useless, in vain. Often used interchangeably with "vô bổ," but can sometimes emphasize effort that yields nothing ("ích" means benefit).
• Vô dụng (adj): Useless, good-for-nothing. Often describes a person or object that lacks function or capability, whereas "vô bổ" more often describes the nature of an action or result.
• Bất lợi (adj): Disadvantageous, unfavorable. Focuses on causing harm or disadvantage rather than just a lack of benefit.
• Phí phạm (adj/v): Wasteful. Describes the act of wasting something valuable, which often leads to a "vô bổ" outcome.

Synonyms

• Vô ích: Useless, in vain.
• Không có ích lợi: Not beneficial, of no use.
• Không hiệu quả: Ineffective.
• Phù phiếm: Frivolous, vain (often with a connotation of being shallow or focused on trivialities).

Related Phrases / Collocations

• Công việc vô bổ: Useless work.
• Lời nói vô bổ: Pointless/Futile words.
• Nỗ lực vô bổ: Futile effort.
• Tốn thời gian vô bổ: To waste time pointlessly.

Notes on Meaning

• "Vô bổ" vs. "Vô dụng": While both translate to "useless," "vô bổ" typically critiques the result or purpose of an action (e.g., a futile discussion). "Vô dụng" more directly describes the inherent quality or function of a person or object (e.g., a broken tool is "vô dụng").
• Connotation: "Vô bổ" carries a strong negative connotation of wasted effort, time, or potential. It implies a judgment that the activity was not worth undertaking.

adj

1. useless