扑空 (pū kōng) — to miss someone (by arriving when they're not there); to come up empty-handed (after making an effort)

Definition

扑空 means making an effort to find someone or get something but coming away with nothing. It emphasizes the failed trip itself, not just the empty-handed result.

verb
to miss someone (by arriving when they're not there)to come up empty-handed (after making an effort)

Examples

  • ，扑空。
    Wǒ qù tā jiā zhǎo tā, jié guǒ yòu pū kōng le.
    I went to his place to find him, but he was out again.
  • ，。
    Jīn tiān qù shū diàn mǎi nà běn shū, méi xiǎng dào yòu pū le gè kōng.
    I went to the bookstore for that book today, but unexpectedly it was sold out again.
  • 扑空，。
    Tā pǎo le hǎo jǐ jiā diàn dōu pū kōng, zuì hòu cái zhǎo dào.
    He went to several stores and came up empty each time before finally finding it.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

扑pūpounce
空kōngempty

扑 means pounce and 空 means empty; the action ends in emptiness.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
卜
卜bǔ扑pū
Same sound today

扑 uses 手 (hand) for meaning and 卜 (bǔ) for sound.

Open 扑 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
穴穴xuécave, hole
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng空kōng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

空 is built from 穴, a cave or hole, and 工, which gives the sound.

Open 空 →

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