空手而歸 kōng shǒu ér guī

DEFINITIONS

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

CHARACTERS

空 kōng
HSK 3
empty, hollow, bare, deserted
手 shǒu
HSK 2
hand
而 ér
HSK 3
and; and then; and yet; but
歸 guī return; return to, revert to