Definition

1. Adjective Phrase:
   • Empty, unused, vacant, unoccupied: Describes a space, place, or object that is not being used, filled, or inhabited. It emphasizes the state of being left idle or available.
   • To no purpose, in vain, for nothing: Describes an action or effort that is wasted or yields no result.

Usage Examples

• Adjective Phrase (Empty/Unused):

  • Căn phòng này để không đã lâu. (This room has been left empty/unused for a long time.)
  • Anh ấy mua đất chỉ để không. (He bought the land just to leave it vacant.)
  • Đừng để bình nước để không. (Don't leave the water bottle empty.)

• Adjective Phrase (In vain/For nothing):

  • Tôi đã cố gắng rất nhiều nhưng cuối cùng vẫn để không. (I tried very hard but in the end, it was all for nothing.)
  • Công sức bỏ ra hoàn toàn để không. (The effort put in was completely in vain.)

Advanced Usage

• "để trống không": A more emphatic variant meaning "completely empty/vacant."

  • Kho hàng để trống không. (The warehouse is completely empty.)

• "ăn để không": To eat without working or contributing; to be a freeloader.

  • Nó chỉ biết ăn để không thôi. (He only knows how to eat without doing any work.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bỏ không (verb phrase): To abandon, to leave something unused or unattended.

  • Cánh đồng bị bỏ không. (The field was left fallow/abandoned.)

• Trống không (adjective): Empty, hollow, containing nothing.

  • Chiếc túi trống không. (The bag is empty.)

Synonyms

• Vô ích: Useless, futile (for the "in vain" meaning).
• Bỏ phí: Wasted (for the "in vain" meaning).
• Trống: Empty, vacant (for the "empty" meaning).

Related Phrases

• Làm để không: To do something in vain/to no avail.
  • Mọi giải thích đều là làm để không. (All explanations are in vain.)

Related Idioms

• Công dã tràng: (Lit: Sand crab's work) Describes futile, wasted effort. This idiom is conceptually similar to the "in vain" meaning of .
  • Giúp hắn ta khác nào công dã tràng. (Helping him is like the sand crab's work—completely futile.)

1. Leave empty, leave unused
   • Ngôi nhà để không
     A house left unused