📖 Meaning
To appear as though one has lost something. It describes a person whose mind is unsettled, distracted, or hollow, as if something important is missing from their heart.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Huainanzi (《淮南子·原道训》), a Daoist-leaning compendium compiled in the Western Han dynasty under Liu An, Prince of Huainan, around 139 BCE. The original passage depicts someone stepping down from a carriage, resting their horses, and putting aside wine and music, only to feel a sudden emptiness in the heart — as if something had been lost or vanished. From this scene of post-indulgence desolation comes the image of an unsettled, hollow state of mind.
💡 Example Usage
听完那番话后，他低着头，若有所丧地离开了房间。
After hearing those words, he lowered his head and left the room, looking as if he had lost something.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 若有所丧
- Pinyin: ruò yǒu suǒ sàng
- Literal Translation: as if, have, something, lost
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4