一无所获

一

yi̅

无

無

wú

所

suǒ

获

獲

huò

to gain nothing / to end up empty-handed

Characters and words in 一无所获

一

yi̅ = y + Ø1

one / single / a (article) / as soon as / entire; whole; all; throughout / "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1) / also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit

Maud Younger (y) forgot her keys to the space station (Ø1), all she brought outside was her flute (一). She has no choice but to crash the door with the giant flute.

无

無

wú = w + Ø2

not to have / no / none / not / to lack / un- / -less

无 = 一 + 𠂇 + 乚 : Mnemonic symbol: the philosopher Diogenes, who has nothing and wants nothing.

无 = 一 + 𠂇 + 乚 : Just inside the space station's entrance, Diogenes is annoyed by Willy Walrus, who's playing his flute. Diogenes just wants a peaceful time without being disturbed, so he cuts the flute into pieces with a pair of scissors, and threatens to beat Willy Walrus with a shovel should he annoy Diogenes again.

Mnemonic symbol: 無爲, wu2 wei2, the state of non-doing after having attained complete harmony with the Tao.

Willy Walrus (w) has attained Wu Wei (無) just inside the space station's entrance (Ø2), while from the outside it may seem like he is napping.

所

suǒ = su + o3

actually / place / classifier for houses, small buildings, institutions etc / that which / particle introducing a relative clause or passive / CL:個|个[ge4]

所 = 戶 + 斤 : Susan Saint Bernard and her whole family are weight lifting in the place of the observatory. They are all together lifting one barbell.

获

獲

huò = hu + o4

to catch / to obtain / to capture

获 = 艹 + 犬 + 犭 : Helga Horse (hu) harvested (获) a lot of artificial lawn (艹) for the winter and stores it in the observatory's bathroom (o4), but one day she caught (获) a Saint Bernard dog (犬) and a Dachshund (犭) having messed it all up, each of them tearing at one end of a sheet at the same time.

获

穫

huò = hu + o4

to reap / to harvest