hung1 mou4 jat1 jan4空無一人空无一人
Jyutpinghung1 mou4 jat1 jan4
Yalehūng mòuh yāt yàhn
Definition
Completely empty; deserted with not a single person around.
writtendescriptionsplaces
How it's used
This idiom carries a slightly dramatic or literary weight, often used to emphasize a sense of eerie silence or unexpected abandonment. While it is perfectly understandable in speech, it is more commonly found in descriptive writing or storytelling rather than casual, everyday conversation. If you want to describe a place as empty in a more mundane, conversational way, people usually prefer saying 冇人或者得返佢一個.
Examples
The house is completely empty, where did they go?
The whole mall is deserted, it's like a haunted house.
Related words
Common phrases
the street is deserted
the home is completely empty
Common mistake
Learners often mistakenly use this to describe a place that is just 'not crowded' or 'quiet', but it specifically implies a total absence of people. It should not be used for places that are simply unpopular or have few customers.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- Aspect markersCantonese has no tenses, but it does have aspect markers. Learn how zo2, gwo3, gan2, and hai2 dou6 show completion, experience, and ongoing action.
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
