Chinese idioms · 22 idioms
Chinese idioms about family
Chengyu whose meaning is about family, each with pinyin, meaning and sound.
- 家破人亡jiāpò-rénwángfamily ruined and members dead
- 红杏出墙hóngxìng-chūqiáng(of a wife) to have an affair
- 贤妻良母xiánqī-liángmǔgood wife and loving mother
- 糟糠之妻zāokāng-zhīqīwife who shared one's poverty
- 传宗接代chuánzōng-jiēdàito carry on the family line
- 浪子回头làngzǐ-huítóuthe return of the prodigal son
- 小家碧玉xiǎojiā-bìyùa pretty girl from a humble family
- 妻离子散qīlí-zǐsànfamily broken up and scattered
- 发家致富fājiā-zhìfùto make a family fortune
- 从一而终cóngyī-érzhōngto remain faithful to one's husband till death
- 重男轻女zhòngnán-qīngnǚto prefer sons to daughters
- 天之骄子tiānzhī-jiāozǐfavored son
- 养家糊口yǎngjiā-húkǒuto support one's family
- 情同手足qíngtóng-shǒuzúas close as brothers
- 望子成龙wàngzǐ-chénglóngto hope one's child will succeed
- 一家老小yījiā-lǎoxiǎothe whole family, young and old
- 真命天子zhēnmìng-tiānzǐtrue Son of Heaven
- 身家性命shēnjiā-xìngmìngone's own life and one's family's lives
- 书香门第shūxiāng-méndìscholarly family
- 四海一家sìhǎi-yījiāthe whole world is one family
- 小康之家xiǎokāng-zhījiācomfortably off family
- 孝子贤孙xiàozǐ-xiánsūnfilial sons and worthy grandsons
What is a Chinese idiom about family?
家破人亡 (jiāpò-rénwáng): family ruined and members dead. It is the most common of the 22 on this page.
What is a chengyu?
A set phrase, nearly always four characters, that packs a story or an image into a few words: 画蛇添足, “drawing legs on a snake”, means spoiling something by overdoing it. Chinese speakers use them in writing, speeches and everyday talk.
More free tools
Chengyu from the Xinhua idiom list; meanings from our own dictionary. Open one for its characters and real sentences.