人去楼空

人去樓空

rénqùlóukōng

idiom #41,296

Meanings

1 the people are gone and the building stands empty
2 a place once lively now deserted
3 nostalgia for a vanished presence

Characters

building; upper storey

Examples

多年后再回故居，人去楼空，只剩下满院的落叶。

Duō nián hòu zài huí gùjū, rénqùlóukōng, zhǐ shèngxià mǎn yuàn de luòyè.

Returning to the old home years later, the people were gone and the place stood empty, just a courtyard full of fallen leaves.

他推开门，人去楼空，心里涌上一阵失落。

Tā tuīkāi mén, rénqùlóukōng, xīnlǐ yǒng shàng yī zhèn shīluò.

He pushed open the door to find everyone gone, and a wave of loss welled up in his heart.

Tips

history

From Cui Hao's (崔颢) Tang poem 《黄鹤楼》: '昔人已乘黄鹤去，此地空余黄鹤楼' — the sage has ridden off on the yellow crane, leaving only the empty tower. The phrase carries the poem's melancholy over things irretrievably past.

Stroke Order

人 rén

去 qù

楼 lóu

空 kōng