TuDien.NgonNguViet.comVietnamese ⇄ English dictionary

mất công

verbadjective
Hanoi [mət̚˧˦ kəwŋ͡m˧˧]Huế [mək̚˦˧˥ kəwŋ͡m˧˧]Saigon [mək̚˦˥ kəwŋ͡m˧˧] browser voice
Syllables · tones
mấtrisingsắccônglevelngang

Each syllable carries one of six tones; the mark on the vowel tells you which. How the six tones sound →

mất công means to put one's effort.

Meanings of mất công in English

Verb

  1. colloquial to put one's effort (into something that turns out to useless or not needed)
    • Tối qua mất công cày bài cả đêm mà sáng ra đề dễ ẹt.Man, last night I put all my effort into studying but (it turned out that) the test this morning was piss easy.

Adjective

  1. colloquial useless
    • chuyện mất cônguseless things, useless affairs.

Example sentences with mất công

  • Tôi đã mất công đến gặp cô ấy trong lúc trời mưa, vậy mà cô ấy lại không có nhà. Though I went to see her all the way in the rain, she was out.

Bilingual example sentences from Tatoeba (tatoeba.org, CC BY 2.0 FR).

Etymology

mất (“to lose”) + công (“work, labor”).

Frequently asked questions

What does mất công mean in English?

mất công (verb) means "to put one's effort".

How do you pronounce mất công?

IPA: Hanoi [mət̚˧˦ kəwŋ͡m˧˧]; Saigon [mək̚˦˥ kəwŋ͡m˧˧]. Tones: mất — rising tone (sắc), công — level tone (ngang).

Meanings, pronunciation and etymology from English Wiktionary (wiktionary.org, via kaikki.org; CC BY-SA 4.0), reviewed and edited; example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). IPA shown for three accents: Hanoi (Northern), Huế (Central) and Saigon (Southern). The Listen button uses your browser's Vietnamese voice, for reference only. Spotted a mistake? Let NgonNgu know.