空手而归 kōng shǒu ér guī

to return empty-handed; to fail to win anything

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. to return empty-handed
  2. 2. to fail to win anything

Characters

Character Meaning
空 kōng HSK 3
empty; sky; air
手 shǒu HSK 2
hand; personal(ly); person engaged in certain types of work
而 ér HSK 3
and; but (not); (indicates contrast)
归 guī HSK 5
to return; to go back to; to belong to