竹篮打水 zhú lán dá shuǐ drawing water with a bamboo basket

Explanation

比喻徒劳无功，白费力气。

It means to make vain efforts and achieve nothing.

Origin Story

从前，有个愚笨的人，他总是用竹篮去河里打水，结果可想而知，每次都是竹篮打水一场空。他日复一日地重复着这种徒劳无功的行为，却始终不明白其中的道理。有一天，一位智者路过这里，看到他如此执着地做着无意义的事情，便耐心地向他解释：“竹篮是有缝隙的，水自然会从缝隙中流出来，你用竹篮打水永远不可能成功。”愚笨的人听了智者的解释，恍然大悟，从此不再用竹篮打水了。他开始学习其他的技能，并最终通过自己的努力，过上了富足的生活。

cóng qián, yǒu gè yúbèn de rén, tā zǒngshì yòng zhúlán qù hé lǐ dǎshuǐ, jiéguǒ kě xiǎng zhī, měicì dōu shì zhúlán dǎshuǐ yī chǎng kōng。 tā rì fù rì dì de chóngfùzhe zhè zhǒng túláo wúgōng de xíngwéi, què shǐzhōng bù míngbái qízhōng de dàolǐ。 yǒu yītiān, yī wèi zhìzhě lùguò zhè lǐ, kàn dào tā rúcǐ zhīzhuó de zuòzhe wúyìyì de shìqíng, biàn nàixīn de xiàng tā jiěshì："zhúlán shì yǒu féngxì de, shuǐ zìrán huì cóng féngxì zhōng liú chūlái, nǐ yòng zhúlán dǎshuǐ yǒngyuǎn bù kěnéng chénggōng。" yúbèn de rén tīng le zhìzhě de jiěshì, huǎngrán dàwù, cóngcǐ bù zài yòng zhúlán dǎshuǐ le。 tā kāishǐ xuéxí qítā de jìnéng, bìng zuìzhōng tōngguò zìjǐ de nǔlì, guò shang le fùzú de shēnghuó。

Once upon a time, there was a foolish man who always tried to draw water from the river with a bamboo basket. The result was predictable; every time, it was in vain. Day after day, he repeated this useless act, but he never understood the reason. One day, a wise man passed by and saw him so stubbornly doing a meaningless thing. Patiently, he explained to him: "A bamboo basket has gaps; the water will naturally flow out through the gaps. You can never succeed in drawing water with a bamboo basket."

Usage

常用来形容事情做了也是白费力气，没有任何结果。

cháng yòng lái xíngróng shìqíng zuò le yě shì báifèi lìqi, méiyǒu rènhé jiéguǒ。

It is often used to describe that something was done but in vain and yielded no results.

Examples

• 他每天都做一些无用功，真是竹篮打水一场空。

  tā měitiān dōu zuò yīxiē wúyònggōng, zhēnshi zhúlán dǎshuǐ yī chǎng kōng。

  He does useless work every day, it's a waste of time.

• 这个计划根本行不通，只会竹篮打水一场空。

  zhège jìhuà gēnběn xíng bù tōng, zhǐ huì zhúlán dǎshuǐ yī chǎng kōng。

  This plan simply won't work, it's just a waste of effort.

Related Idioms

• 劳而无功

• 徒劳无益

Opposite Idioms

• 事半功倍

• 一举成功