两手空空 (liǎng shǒu kōng kōng) — to come away empty-handed; to have nothing to show for one's efforts
Definition
Idiomatic chengyu meaning 'empty-handed' — after effort or a trip, you have nothing to show for it. Used like an adjective or adverb (∼地).
verb
to come away empty-handedto have nothing to show for one's efforts
Examples
- ，两手空空。Tā zài miàn shì le wǔ cì zhī hòu, réng rán shì liǎng shǒu kōng kōng.After five interviews, he still came away empty-handed.
- ，两手空空。Zhè cì tóu zī shī bài, tā zuì hòu liǎng shǒu kōng kōng dì lí kāi le gōng sī.After this investment failure, he left the company empty-handed in the end.
- ，两手空空，。Qù le yí tàng gǔ dǒng shì chǎng, tā yī rán liǎng shǒu kōng kōng, shén me yě méi mǎi dào.After a trip to the antique market, he was still empty-handed, having bought nothing.
Appears in
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