Definition
This is a four-character idiom (成语) describing a melancholic scene where a person has left and the place they once occupied now feels empty and deserted. It evokes the sadness of missing someone, often used when revisiting a former home or workplace after the person is gone. The literal meaning ('people gone, building empty') carries emotional weight and is not used literally to describe an empty building.
f.e.
the person has left and the place is empty — a poignant scene recalling someone absent
Examples
- ，人去楼空，。Duōnián hòu huídào mǔxiào, rén qù lóu kōng, bùjīn ràng rén gǎnkǎi.Returning to my alma mater after many years, the place was empty and the people gone, making me sigh with emotion.
- ，，。Tā chūguó hòu, jiā lǐ rén qù lóu kōng, mǔqīn chángcháng dúzì luò lèi.After he went abroad, the house felt empty without him, and his mother often cried alone.
- 人去楼空，。Zhè zhāng lǎo zhàopiàn ràng wǒ xiǎngqǐ rén qù lóu kōng de wǎngshì, xīn lǐ shífēn nánguò.This old photo reminds me of the past when people were gone and the place was empty, making me very sad.
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