human presence; sign of people
Usually appears in negative expressions such as 人けがない or 人けのない, meaning that no people seem to be around.
There was no sign of people in front of the station at night.
Only with reading ひとげ
Rare and old-fashioned as an independent noun; modern Japanese more often uses 人間味 or 人情.
In old writing, ひとげ can refer to human feeling or compassion.
Clear spelling for the reading ひとけ, avoiding confusion with 人気 read にんき.
Mixed kanji-kana spelling that makes the reading clear.
Attested spelling, but it can be confused with 人気 read にんき, 'popularity'.
Compound of 人 (ひと, 'person') and 気 (け, 'feeling, sign'). The reading ひとげ is a voiced variant.