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無功而返

简无功而返 · 繁無功而返

Mandarin · pinyin wú gōng ér fǎn

to return without any achievement (idiom); to go home with one's tail between one's legs

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Characters in this entry

無: Look up this written character
功: gōng · achievement, merit, good result
而: ér · and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126
返: fǎn · return, revert to, restore
无: wú · negative, no, not; Kangxi radical 71

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–1–2–3 · wu2 gong1 er2 fan3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

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無功而返 · find source passages ↗ · 无功而返 · find source passages ↗

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to return without any achievement; to go home with one's tail between one's legs

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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