Chinese symbol for “futile”
徒劳
tú láo
Traditional: 徒勞
futile
The closest CC-CEDICT match for futile is 徒劳 (tú láo), defined as: futile.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Traditional forms
Other Chinese words for “futile”
Related words
Other words that share a character with 徒劳.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 信徒 | xìn tú | believer |
| 教徒 | jiào tú | disciple; follower of a religion |
| 徒刑 | tú xíng | prison sentence |
| 有期徒刑 | yǒu qī tú xíng | limited term of imprisonment (i.e. anything less than life imprisonment) |
| 徒弟 | tú dì | apprentice; disciple |
| 叛徒 | pàn tú | traitor; turncoat |
| 劳动 (勞動) | láo dòng | work; toil |
| 劳动力 (勞動力) | láo dòng lì | labor force; manpower |
See also: Japanese symbol for “futile”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.