Translation guide
Describes efforts, attempts, or actions that produce no useful result. In Japanese, this is expressed through adjectives, verbs, and set phrases that emphasize wasted effort or lack of outcome.
The most common use: describing an action or effort that was pointless or produced nothing.
A na-adjective meaning 'wasteful' or 'futile'. Very common and natural for describing fruitless efforts.
彼の努力は無駄だった。
His efforts were fruitless.
Stop your fruitless resistance.
Literally 'does not bear fruit'. Used for efforts, discussions, or hopes that don't lead to a concrete result.
長時間の会議は実らなかった。
The long meeting was fruitless.
A proverb meaning 'all pain, no gain'—a fruitless effort that only leaves you tired. More colorful and less common in daily speech.
一日中探したが、骨折り損の草臥れ儲けだった。
I searched all day, but it was a fruitless effort.
When looking for something or trying to find out information, but coming up empty.
An i-adjective meaning 'empty' or 'vain'. Often used for fruitless searches or hopes.
空しい捜索が続いた。
The fruitless search continued.
A straightforward phrase meaning 'no results'. Common in reports or factual statements.
調査は成果なしに終わった。
The investigation ended fruitlessly.
Emphasizing that an action was never going to succeed, often with a nuance of hopelessness.
A na-adjective meaning 'unprofitable' or 'futile'. Slightly more formal than 無駄な.
無益な争いは避けるべきだ。
We should avoid fruitless conflicts.
A set phrase meaning 'it's no use' or 'nothing can be done'. Conveys that further effort is fruitless.
今さら後悔してもどうにもならない。
Regretting it now is fruitless.
無駄な focuses on waste and lack of practical result, while 空しい carries an emotional tone of emptiness or vanity. Use 無駄な for concrete efforts, and 空しい for hopes or searches that feel hollow.
The English word 'fruitless' literally means 'without fruit', but the Japanese equivalent 実らない is not always the best choice. It is mainly used for processes that fail to produce a tangible outcome. For general futility, 無駄な is safer.
私たちの努力は全て無駄だった。
All our efforts were fruitless.
捜索は空しく終わった。
The search proved fruitless.