There are various Thai expressions that are equivalent to the English expression ” . . in vain” or ” . . for nothing”. It depends on the usage and the context. One expression is “เปล่าประโยชน์” [plào prá yòde], for example, อย่าใช้เวลาโดยเปล่าประโยชน์ [yàa chái welaa dooi plào prá yòde] “Don’t waste your time in vain”. Another expression that we use often is “เสีย…เปล่า(ๆ)” [sĭa plào (plào)] ฉันไม่อยากเสียเงินเปล่า [chán mâi yàak sĭa ngern plào] “I don’t want to lose money for nothing”. อย่าไปเที่ยวที่นั่นเลย ไปก็เสียเที่ยวเปล่าๆ [yàa pai tîaw tîi nân loei, pai kâw sĭa tîaw plào plào] “Don’t go there for vacation. You’d just lose your time/energy in vain if you did”. อย่าเครียด เครียดไปเสียเวลาเปล่า [yàa krîad, krîad pai sĭa welaa plào] Don’t be stressed out. You’re just losing your time in vain.

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