IN VAIN  徒然

FAILING to ACHIEVE any AIMS.
Hypernym
  • FAILTRY to ACHIEVE something BUT NOT SUCCEED.
    • TRYACT, BUT DOUBT WHETHER one WILL be SUCCESSFUL ACTING.
      • ACTMOVE OR NOT MOVE CONFORMING to one's SELF:own DECIDE:decision.
        • MOVECHANGE PLACE OR SITUATION....
Modern Chinese Criteria
白 is a current word for doing something in vain (also: at no cost)

白白 is intensitive.

徒 is a literary way of referring to something being in vain.

乾 is colloquial for "to no purpose"

無效 refers to an action being to no effect.

虛 as in 不虛此行 "the trip has not been in vain".

rough draft to BEGIN TO identify synonym group members for analysis, based on CL etc. 18.11.2003. CH ／

  • Lateinische Synonyme und Etymologien ( DOEDERLEIN 1840) p.

    IN VAIN

    frustra refers to something being in vain in the sense that the agent's purposes were frustrated.

    nequidquam refers to something being to no purpose and coming to nothing.

    incassum refers to something coming to nothing because of a fault on the part of the agent.

  • SYNONYMES FRANÇOIS, LEURS DIFFÉRENTES SIGNIFICATIONS, ET LE CHOIX QU'IL EN FAUT FAIRE Pour parler avec justesse ( GIRARD 1769) p. 1.463.421

    VAINEMENT.INUTILEMENT.EN VAIN

  • Bibliographisches Handbuch zur Sprachinhaltsforschung. Teil II. Systematischer Teil. B. Ordnung nach Sinnbezirken (mit einem alphabetischen Begriffsschluessel): Der Mensch und seine Welt im Spiegel der Sprachforschung ( FRANKE 1989) p. 60B

Words

徒  tú OC: daa MC: duo̝ 13 Attributions
    Syntactic words
  • vadVfor no good reason, to no purpose; empty-handed
空  kōng OC: khooŋ MC: khuŋ 7 Attributions
    Syntactic words
  • vadNvain
  • vadVto no effect, with no result
  • vibe in vain
唐  táng OC: ɡ-laaŋ MC: dɑŋ 6 Attributions
    Syntactic words
  • vadVfor no purpose; in vain
虛  xū OC: qhla MC: hi̯ɤ 2 Attributions
    Syntactic words
  • vadVto no avail; to no effect; needlessly; for nothing; for no reason 名不虛傳 “the good name is not transmitted for nothing"
  • vadVfor no good reason, for nothing, out of nothingCH
唐自  táng zì OC: ɡ-laaŋ sblids MC: dɑŋ dzi 1 Attribution
    Syntactic words
  • VPadVin vain, to no good purpose
徒自  tú zì OC: daa sblids MC: duo̝ dzi 1 Attribution
    Syntactic words
  • PPadVto no purpose
白  bái OC: braaɡ MC: bɣɛk 0 Attributions
    Syntactic words
  • vadVin vain
徒然  tú rán OC: daa njen MC: duo̝ ȵiɛn 0 Attributions
    Syntactic words

Existing SW for

Here are Syntactic Words already defined in the database: