人去楼空

人去樓空

rénqù-lóukōng

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

HSK 7-9

多年后再回故居，人去楼空，只剩下满院的落叶。

Duōnián 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.

HSK 7-9

他推开门，人去楼空，心里涌上一阵失落。

Tā tuīkāi mén, rénqùlóukōng, xīnlǐ yǒng shàng yīzhèn 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