门前冷落鞍马稀

門前冷落鞍馬稀

ménqián lěngluò ānmǎ xī

quotation

Meanings

1 before the gate, it is desolate; saddled horses are few
2 few callers come to the door anymore
3 (lit.) front of the gate is cold and fallen, saddles and horses sparse

Characters

fall / desolate

Examples

HSK 5

他退休后，门前冷落鞍马稀，早已没有当年的热闹。

Tā tuìxiū hòu, ménqiánlěngluò'ānmǎxī, zǎoyǐ méiyǒu dāngnián de rènao.

After he retired, callers grew few and the door stood quiet - long gone was the bustle of former days.

HSK 7-9

一朝失势，门前冷落鞍马稀，世态炎凉尽在其中。

Yīzhāo shīshì, ménqiánlěngluò'ānmǎxī, shìtài-yánliáng jìn zài qízhōng.

Once out of power, the door falls silent and the horses vanish - the fickleness of the world, all in one line.

Tips

history

From Bai Juyi's (白居易) Tang-dynasty 《琵琶行》 (Song of the Pipa). The once-famous courtesan narrates her decline: 门前冷落鞍马稀，老大嫁作商人妇 - 'the gate grew cold, the horses few; grown old, I married a merchant.' 鞍马 ('saddle-horses') is metonymy for the well-off visitors who once crowded her door.

usage

Standard image for sudden loss of status or popularity - when the fair-weather friends disappear. The idiom 门可罗雀 ('you could net sparrows at the door') means the same thing, more concisely.

Stroke Order

门 mén

前 qián

冷 lěng

落 luò

鞍 ān

马 mǎ

稀 xī