物是人非

wùshì-rénfēi

idiom #34,305

Meanings

1 things remain but people have changed
2 the scenery is the same but the people are gone

Characters

things; objects

not (the same); no longer

Examples

HSK 1

十年后再见同学，物是人非。

Shí nián hòu zàijiàn tóngxué, wùshì-rénfēi.

Meeting his classmates ten years later, so much had changed about the people even though nothing else had.

HSK 6

重回故乡，物是人非，不禁落泪。

Chóng huí gùxiāng, wùshì-rénfēi, bùjīn luòlèi.

Returning to his hometown, he found the scenery unchanged but the people gone, and could not hold back his tears.

Tips

history

From Li Qingzhao's 《武陵春》: '物是人非事事休，欲语泪先流.' A signature phrase of nostalgic literature - used when returning to a place associated with someone now absent.

Stroke Order

物 wù

是 shì

人 rén

非 fēi