# 门可罗雀

mén kě luó què

Have almost no visitors or customers

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** Catch sparrows in nets at the doorway

**Traditional Chinese:** 門可羅雀

**Register:** Descriptive · literary

[Change & possibility](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/change)

## When to use it

Describe a deserted business or reception place.

Usually concerns visitor traffic, not remote geography.

## Understanding the expression

If people rarely pass a doorway, birds can settle there without disturbance. The imagined nets make that emptiness vivid. Modern speakers use the phrase for shops, venues, or homes receiving very few visitors, especially after a busier period. It can suggest lost popularity or declining trade. A place may still be open and maintained; the point is the lack of people coming through its door.

## Examples

雨天书店门可罗雀。

### Traditional Chinese

雨天書店門可羅雀。

yǔ tiān shū diàn mén kě luó què 。

The bookstore has almost no visitors on rainy days.

旧商场如今门可罗雀。

### Traditional Chinese

舊商場如今門可羅雀。

jiù shāng chǎng rú jīn mén kě luó què 。

The old mall is now nearly deserted.

旺季过后，旅馆门可罗雀。

### Traditional Chinese

旺季過後，旅館門可羅雀。

wàng jì guò hòu ， lǚ guǎn mén kě luó què 。

After peak season, the hotel has few guests.

改道后，这家店门可罗雀。

### Traditional Chinese

改道後，這家店門可羅雀。

gǎi dào hòu ， zhè jiā diàn mén kě luó què 。

After the route changed, this shop lost nearly all its customers.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 6, 2026.

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E9%96%80%E5%8F%AF%E7%BE%85%E9%9B%80)

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=75&webMd=1&la=0)

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