lit. the old man lost his horse, but it all turned out for the best (i
塞 · 13 strokes
Depicts two hands (廾) stuffing various objects (工) into an enclosed space (宀). The 土 (earth) component was added later.
翁 · 10 strokes
Phonosemantic compound. 羽 represents the meaning and 公 represents the sound.
失 · 5 strokes
Depicts a person with their hair loose. Based on the original meaning "leisure; carefree", now written as 佚. The meaning later shifted to "lose" and "fail".
马 · 3 strokes
Simplified form of 馬. Pictograph of a horse.
这次失败也许是塞翁失马，未必是坏事。
This failure might be a blessing in disguise; it's not necessarily a bad thing.