いたずら

い

た

ず

ら

Meanings

1

useless; vain; aimless; idle

usually written using kana alone

Almost always used adverbially as いたずらに, meaning 'in vain', 'to no purpose', or 'idly'. The standalone adjectival use is rare.

いたずらに時じ間かんを過すごしてしまった。
I ended up spending time idly.
いたずらに心しん配ぱいしても仕し方かたがない。
It's no use worrying in vain.

See all 21 example sentences ›

Kanji

徒on foot, junior, emptiness

Related words

無む駄だ
無駄 is a common word for 'wasteful' or 'useless', while いたずら is literary and emphasizes aimlessness or futility, often in the adverbial form いたずらに.

Word family

いたずらにN1
uselessly; in vain; pointlessly
徒いたずら人びと
useless fellow; down-and-out person · dead person
徒いたずら言ごと
nonsense; gibberish; meaningless words

Written forms

いたずらUsage88%
Kana spelling is standard for this adjectival noun; the kanji forms 徒 and 徒ら are rare and literary.
徒いたずらUsage11%
Rare kanji spelling with okurigana; literary or archaic feel.
徒いたずらUsage1%
Rare kanji spelling; may be confused with other readings such as と.

Etymology

The origin is uncertain. The kanji 徒 carries meanings of 'futility' or 'in vain', but the word is now usually written in kana.