赤手空拳

chìshǒu-kōngquán

idiom #20,445

Meanings

1 bare-handed
2 unarmed
3 without tools or resources
4 starting from nothing

Characters

Examples

HSK 7-9

他赤手空拳地打败了两个歹徒。

Tā chìshǒu-kōngquán de dǎbài le liǎng gè dǎitú.

He fought off two criminals with his bare hands.

HSK 7-9

他赤手空拳地闯入了商界，最终成功。

Tā chìshǒu-kōngquán de chuǎngrù le shāngjiè, zuìzhōng chénggōng.

He entered the business world with nothing and eventually succeeded.

HSK 7-9

面对强敌，他们只能赤手空拳。

Miànduì qiángdí, tāmen zhǐnéng chìshǒu-kōngquán.

Facing a powerful enemy, they had only their bare hands.

Tips

usage

Used both literally (physically unarmed) and figuratively (having no resources, connections, or capital when starting something). 赤手空拳闯天下 is a common phrase meaning 'to make one's way in the world starting from nothing'.

Stroke Order

赤 chì

手 shǒu

空 kōng

拳 quán