健けん闘とうむなしく

Meanings

fighting in vain; despite a good fight

Used when someone's efforts or struggle end in failure or without the desired result, often in sports, competitions, or battles. Conveys respect for the effort despite the outcome.

彼かれは健けん闘とうむなしく、決けっ勝しょうで敗やぶれた。
He fought well but lost in the finals.
チームは健けん闘とうむなしく、予よ選せん敗はい退たいとなった。
The team put up a good fight but was eliminated in the preliminaries.

Kanji

健healthy, health, strength
闘fight, war
空empty, sky, void
虚void, emptiness, unpreparedness

Related words

健けん闘とう
健闘 is a noun meaning 'good fight' or 'strenuous effort', while 健闘むなしく is an adverbial expression meaning 'despite a good fight'.
空むなしい
空しい is an adjective meaning 'empty' or 'futile'; 健闘むなしく uses its adverbial form to modify the outcome of the effort.

Written forms

健けん闘とうむなしく
Standard spelling using kana for むなしく; the most common written form.
健けん闘とう空むなしく
Kanji spelling for むなしく; less common but still seen.
健けん闘とう虚むなしく
Alternate kanji for むなしく; rare and may be considered non-standard.

Etymology

Compound of 健闘 (けんとう, 'good fight') and the adverbial form of 空しい (むなしい, 'futile'). The phrase literally means 'with a good fight being in vain'.