無駄骨(むだぼね)

むだぼね
noun
wasted effort; fruitless labor
actionevaluation
1. wasted effort; fruitless labor; vain attempt
Effort or trouble that produces no result. Emphasizes the futility of the work expended.
無駄骨(むだぼね)を折(お)る。
To waste one's efforts.
結局(けっきょく)、無駄骨(むだぼね)に終(お)わった。
In the end, it turned out to be a wasted effort.
わざわざ行(い)ったのに無駄骨(むだぼね)だった。
I went out of my way to go, but it was all for nothing.
無駄骨(むだぼね)を折(お)らないように、事前(じぜん)に確認(かくにん)しておいたほうがいい。
You should check in advance so you don't waste your efforts.

Compound of 無駄(むだ) (futile, useless) + 骨(ほね) (bone; effort, trouble). The 骨(ほね) here refers to effort or labor (as in 骨(ほね)を折(お)る, "to make an effort"), so 無駄骨(むだぼね) literally means "useless effort."

Usage

Most commonly appears in the expression 無駄骨(むだぼね)を折(お)る (to waste one's efforts) or 無駄骨(むだぼね)に終(お)わる (to end up being a wasted effort). Often used when someone went to considerable trouble only to achieve nothing.

Common collocations

  • 無駄骨(むだぼね)を折(お)る — to waste one's efforts
  • 無駄骨(むだぼね)に終(お)わる — to end in wasted effort
  • 無駄骨(むだぼね)だった — it was a wasted effort

Similar words

Related Words

Compare: 徒労(とろう) (futile effort)
Compare: 骨折(ほねお)り損(ぞん) (effort that went unrewarded)
Compare: 無駄足(むだあし) (wasted trip)
general
Added 2026.3.29 4:14 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
20000/20265_mudabone