十室九空

Chinese

	ten	room	nine	emptied; leisure; air emptied; leisure; air; sky; empty; in vain
trad. (十室九空)	十	室	九	空
simp. ^#(十室九空)	十	室	九	空
Literally: “nine out of ten houses are empty”.

Etymology

First attested in c. 317, in Baopuzi Outer Chapter XIV (《抱朴子·外篇·用刑》):

天下欲反，十室九空。其所以亡，豈由嚴刑？ [Literary Chinese, trad.]

天下欲反，十室九空。其所以亡，岂由严刑？ [Literary Chinese, simp.]

From: Ge Hong, Baopuzi, 4^th century CE

Tiānxià yù fǎn, shí shì jiǔ kōng. Qí suǒyǐ wáng, qǐ yóu yánxíng? [Pinyin]

When people throughout the country are on the verge of rebellion, nine in ten homes lie desolate. Could harsh laws be to blame for causing its fall?

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): shíshìjiǔkōng, shíshǐjiǔkōng

(Zhuyin): ㄕˊ ㄕˋ ㄐㄧㄡˇ ㄎㄨㄥ, ㄕˊ ㄕˇ ㄐㄧㄡˇ ㄎㄨㄥ
Cantonese (Jyutping): sap⁶ sat¹ gau² hung¹

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese, standard in Mainland and Taiwan)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: shíshìjiǔkōng
  - Zhuyin: ㄕˊ ㄕˋ ㄐㄧㄡˇ ㄎㄨㄥ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: shíhshìhjiǒukong
  - Wade–Giles: shih²-shih⁴-chiu³-kʻung¹
  - Yale: shŕ-shr̀-jyǒu-kūng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shyrshyhjeoukong
  - Palladius: шишицзюкун (šišiczjukun)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂʐ̩³⁵ ʂʐ̩⁵¹ t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ kʰʊŋ⁵⁵/
- (Standard Chinese, variant in Mainland)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: shíshǐjiǔkōng [Phonetic: shíshíjiǔkōng]
  - Zhuyin: ㄕˊ ㄕˇ ㄐㄧㄡˇ ㄎㄨㄥ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: shíhshǐhjiǒukong
  - Wade–Giles: shih²-shih³-chiu³-kʻung¹
  - Yale: shŕ-shř-jyǒu-kūng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shyrshyyjeoukong
  - Palladius: шишицзюкун (šišiczjukun)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂʐ̩³⁵ ʂʐ̩²¹⁴⁻³⁵ t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ kʰʊŋ⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: sap⁶ sat¹ gau² hung¹
  - Yale: sahp sāt gáu hūng
  - Cantonese Pinyin: sap⁹ sat⁷ gau² hung¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: seb⁶ sed¹ geo² hung¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɐp̚² sɐt̚⁵ kɐu̯³⁵ hʊŋ⁵⁵/

Idiom

十室九空

(of a space) desolate after a war or disaster; deserted as people have died or fled