两手空空 (liǎng shǒu kōng kōng) — to come away empty-handed; to have nothing to s…

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

，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.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 兩; 两 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 兩 is described as combining 一 and 㒳. The simplified 两 is a later abbreviation.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

手 draws a five-fingered human hand: the top line is a bent middle finger, and the horizontal lines show the other four fingers.

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

穴工空

Meaning part形符xíngfú

穴穴xuécave, hole

Sound part声符shēngfú

工

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.