役やくに立たたない

Common word

Meanings

1

expression, i-adjective

Describes something that does not serve a practical purpose or fails to be helpful. Often used in negative evaluations of objects, advice, or actions.

Written forms

役やくに立たたない
Standard kanji spelling; the most frequent written form.
役やくにたたない
Kana-mixed variant; less common but still encountered.
やくに立たたない
Partial kana spelling; rarely used.
役やくに立たた無ない
Ateji-like variant using 無い for ない; very uncommon.

Kanji

役duty, war, campaign
立stand up, rise, set up
無nothingness, none, ain't

Similar words

役やくに立たつ
The positive counterpart meaning 'useful' or 'helpful'. 役に立たない is its negative form.
無む駄だ
Means 'wasteful' or 'futile', emphasizing lack of efficiency or pointlessness, while 役に立たない focuses on lack of practical utility.

Etymology

Phrase consisting of 役 (role, use) + に (particle) + 立たない (negative form of 立つ 'to stand', here meaning 'to be of use'). The expression literally means 'does not stand to a role', i.e., 'useless'.