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一场空 (yì cháng kōng) — all in vain; futile; (efforts) come to nothing

Definition

一场空 (yī chǎng kōng) is a four-character idiom meaning 'all in vain' — a whole effort dissolves into nothing. Typically comes after a verb like 落 (luò) or 化为 (huà wéi) to describe a complete loss.

idiom
all in vainfutile(efforts) come to nothing

Examples

  • ，一场空。
    Tā máng le zhěng zhěng yì nián, zuì hòu què yì cháng kōng.
    He was busy for a whole year, but in the end everything came to nothing.
  • ，一场空。
    Rú guǒ zhè cì tán pàn shī bài, suǒ yǒu zhǔn bèi dōu jiāng yì cháng kōng.
    If this negotiation fails, all the preparations will be in vain.
  • ‘一场空’，。
    Sú yǔ shuō 'zhú lán dǎ shuǐ yì cháng kōng', zuò shì bù néng zhī xiǎng jié jìng.
    As the saying goes, 'drawing water with a bamboo basket — all in vain'; you can't just look for shortcuts when doing things.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

一场one round
一yīone场chǎnground
偏正Modifier + head
空kōngempty

一 means one, 场 a round, 空 empty; one round ends empty, so efforts come to nothing.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 場; 场 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
昜
昜yáng場chǎng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 場 pairs 土 (earth) with 昜 as a sound part; the simplified 场 is a later abbreviation, so its parts do not have that historical role.

Open 场 →

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 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesSuccess & Failure

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