四壁空

sìbìkōng

idiom

Meanings

HSK 3

刚搬来的时候家里四壁空，什么家具都没有。

Gāng bān lái de shíhou jiālǐ sìbìkōng, shénme jiājù dōu méiyǒu.

When we first moved in, the house had nothing but four bare walls - not a piece of furniture.

HSK 5

他青年时代四壁空，全靠自己打拼。

Tā qīngnián shídài sìbìkōng, quán kào zìjǐ dǎpīn.

In his youth he had nothing to his name and built everything through his own effort.

usage

A compressed form of the fuller 家徒四壁 (the house has only four bare walls). Use 四壁空 for a punchier rhythm in speech and writing.

四 sì

壁 bì

空 kōng