徒劳
English Expression:
  1.   vain
  2. n.  mockery
  3. n.  ungratefulness
  4. n.  in vain
  5. n.  beat the air
  6. n.  beat the wind
  7. n.  an issueless effort
  8. n.  lost labour
  9. n.  bark [bay] at the moon [bay the moon]
  10. n.  all for nought
  11. n.  draw water with a sieve (=pour water into a sieve)
  12. n.  the stone of Sisyphus
  13. n.  draw water in [with] a sieve(=pour water into a sieve).
  14. n.  futile effort
  15. n.  fruitless labor
  16. n.  futile
  17.   beat a dead horse
French Expression:
  1. n.  vains efforts, peine perdue