noun
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.
夜の駅前は人けがなかった。
There was no sign of people in front of the station at night.
noun
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.
古い文章では、「ひとげ」が人間らしい情けを指すことがある。
In old writing, ひとげ can refer to human feeling or compassion.
Mixed kanji-kana spelling that makes the reading clear.
Attested spelling, but it can be confused with 人気 read にんき, 'popularity'.
Read にんき, meaning 'popularity'. Do not confuse with 人け (ひとけ).
Compound of 人 (ひと, 'person') and 気 (け, 'feeling, sign'). The reading ひとげ is a voiced variant.