一哄而散

yīhōngérsàn

idiom

Meanings

Jǐngchá yī lái, rénqún yī hōng ér sàn.

The moment the police arrived, the crowd scattered.

Huì méi kāi wán, dàjiā jiù yī hōng ér sàn le.

Before the meeting ended, everyone had cleared out.

mistakes

哄 here is read hōng (to rumble / roar), not hǒng (to coax) or hòng (uproar). Think of the sudden noise of a crowd as it breaks up.

usage

Describes groups only, not individuals. Often used when a gathering ends abruptly or anticlimactically.

一 yī

哄 hǒng

而 ér

散 sàn