阑珊

闌珊

lánshān

adjective

Meanings

HSK 6

深夜，街上灯火阑珊。

Shēnyè, jiēshàng dēnghuǒ lánshān.

Late at night, the lights along the street had grown dim.

HSK 7-9

春意阑珊，花园里的花已经开始凋谢了。

Chūnyì lánshān, huāyuán lǐ de huā yǐjīng kāishǐ diāoxiè le.

Spring was drawing to a close, and the flowers in the garden had begun to wither.

culture

Best known from Xin Qiji's Lantern Festival ci, which ends 那人却在灯火阑珊处, 'and there she was, where the lanterns had burned low'.

usage

Literary, for things running down: lights growing dim, a season fading, and 意兴阑珊 'to have lost all interest'.

阑 lán

珊 shān