「白」

不是颜色。是白费。

白跑一趟。         Went for nothing.
白等了。           Waited in vain.
白说了。           Might as well not have said it.
白干。             Work for nothing.

白 + 动词 = 徒劳 / 没用 → for nothing / in vain / wasted

三种译法

中文	英文
白做了（没效果）	did it for nothing / in vain
白忙活	wasted effort / all for nothing
白给	for free / gave away

动手

我白排了俩小时队。

✅ I waited in line for 2 hours for nothing.

早知道就不来了，白跑一趟。

✅ Came all this way for nothing.

白干了一天。

✅ Worked all day in vain. / Wasted the whole day.

这钱不能白给你。

✅ I can't just give it to you for free.

for nothing vs in vain

for nothing   →  口语，"白干了"
in vain       →  书面、诗意，"徒劳"

日常用 for nothing 就够。

小卡片

白 + 做     →  for nothing / wasted
白忙         →  wasted effort
白给         →  for free

——下一课：「同时」。