Useful Chinese Phrases to Describe Vain Efforts

Have you ever tried to do something, put a lot of effort into it, but didn’t achieve anything in the end?

We’ve all been there.

But good news: there’s a saying in Chinese to describe vain efforts — in a very poetic way!

Next time you fail at something, even if you tried really hard, say:

猴子捞月，一场空
Hóuzi lāoyuè, yīchángkōng
(I tried) to catch the moon in the water; (I) made vain efforts
lit. “monkey-scoops-moon, all-in-vain”

So when can you use this phrase? Turns out, quite often in everyday situations. Consider these 2 examples:

01. FORGOTTEN LUGGAGE

昨天我们全家一起去了附近的城市旅游。
Zuótiān wǒmen quánjiā yīqǐ qù le fùjìn de chéngshì lǚyóu.
Yesterday our family went on a trip to a town nearby.

开车开了好几个小时后，我才发现了我们都没带行李。
Kāichē kāi le hǎo jǐgè xiǎoshí hòu, wǒ cái fāxiàn le wǒmen dōu méi dài xíngli.
I was driving for hours before I realized we’d forgotten to bring the luggage.

真是猴子捞月，一场空！
Zhēnshì hóuzi lāoyuè, yīchángkōng!
All our efforts were just wasted!

02. BROKEN HEART

我喜欢一个女孩儿，希望她能做我女朋友。
Wǒ xǐhuan yī gè nǚháir, xīwàng tā néng zuò wǒ nǚpéngyou.
I like one girl and want her to be my girlfriend.

我为她做了很多事情，但她没有答应我。
Wǒ wèi tā zuò le hěn duō shìqing, dàn tā méiyǒu dāying wǒ.
I did a lot for her, but she didn’t like me back.

真是猴子捞月，一场空!
Zhēnshì hóuzi lāoyuè, yīchángkōng!
It was all for nothing!

We hope that the article will be useful and will help you describe vain efforts in Chinese. To learn more useful Chinese vocabulary and phrases, check out one of our blog posts Chinese Idioms: Complain About Crowds in Chinese