物是人非 (wù shì rén fēi) — (idiom) things remain the same but the people have changed (expressing nostalgia over loss or passage of time)

Definition

Examples

• 回到母校，一切都还是老样子，但早已物是人非了。
  Huí dào mǔ xiào, yí qiè dōu hái shì lǎo yàng zi, dàn zǎo yǐ wù shì rén fēi le.
  Returning to my old school, everything was still the same, but the people had long since changed.
• 翻开老照片，不禁感叹物是人非，曾经的朋友都已各奔东西。
  Fān kāi lǎo zhào piàn, bù jīn gǎn tàn wù shì rén fēi, céng jīng de péng you dōu yǐ gè bèn dōng xī.
  Flipping through old photos, I couldn't help but sigh about how things remained while people had scattered in all directions.
• 公园还是那个公园，可物是人非，陪我玩耍的伙伴早已不知去向。
  Gōng yuán hái shì nà ge gōng yuán, kě wù shì rén fēi, péi wǒ wán shuǎ de huǒ bàn zǎo yǐ bù zhī qù xiàng.
  The park is still the same park, but the playmates who used to be with me have long since disappeared without a trace.

Origin