人去楼空 (rén qù lóu kōng) — the person has left and the place is empty — a poignant scene recalling someone absent

Definition

A chengyu meaning the people are gone and the place is empty — used to evoke nostalgia or grief at revisiting a once-familiar place now abandoned by those who mattered.

idiom
the person has left and the place is empty — a poignant scene recalling someone absent

Examples

  • ，人去楼空，。
    Duō nián hòu huí dào mǔ xiào, rén qù lóu kōng, bù jīn ràng rén gǎn kǎi.
    Returning to my alma mater after many years, the place was empty and the people gone, making me sigh with emotion.
  • ，，。
    Tā chū guó hòu, jiā lǐ rén qù lóu kōng, mǔ qīn cháng cháng dú zì 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 zhào piàn ràng wǒ xiǎng qǐ rén qù lóu kōng de wǎng shì, xīn lǐ shí fēn nán guò.
    This old photo reminds me of the past when people were gone and the place was empty, making me very sad.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

人去person leaves
人rénperson去qùleave
主谓Subject + predicate
楼空building is empty
楼lóubuilding空kōngempty
主谓Subject + predicate

“人去” and “楼空” show the person leaving and the place becoming empty.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

去 pairs 大, a man, with 口, a mouth or object. The evidence reads this as a man leaving a place, a man opening his mouth, or a cover over an object.

Open 去 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 樓; 楼 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
婁
婁lóu樓lóu
Same sound today

The traditional form 樓 pairs 木 (tree) with 婁 as its sound part; the simplified 楼 is a later shorthand.

Open 楼 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
穴穴xuécave, hole
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng空kōng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

空 is built from 穴, a cave or hole, and 工, which gives the sound.

Open 空 →

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