四壁空

sìbìkōng

idiom

Meanings

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

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

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