📖 Meaning
To make a trip or exert effort that yields nothing, returning empty-handed after wasting one's labor. It describes going back and forth on a futile errand that accomplishes nothing in the end.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom comes from chapter 56 of the Ming-dynasty novel Fengshen Yanyi (Investiture of the Gods) by Xu Zhonglin. In the chapter, a doctor (大夫) is told that matters should be spoken of openly and directly, rather than trading sharp, sarcastic words — for such bickering only amounts to 'wasted comings and goings' (徒劳往返耳). The phrase thus originated as a rebuke against pointless verbal sparring, later generalized to describe any fruitless back-and-forth effort.
💡 Example Usage
你与其这样徒劳往返，不如先打个电话确认一下。
Rather than making this futile round trip, you should just call ahead to confirm first.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 徒劳往返
- Pinyin: tú láo wǎng fǎn
- Literal Translation: in vain, toil, go, return
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4