家徒四壁 (jiā tú sì bì) — to be utterly destitute; to have nothing but th…

Definition

A chengyu describing a home so poor that the only things left are the four bare walls — emphasizes total destitution, stronger than simply saying 穷.

idiom

to be utterly destituteto have nothing but the walls in one's home

家徒四壁，。
Tā yǐ qián jiā tú sì bì, xiàn zài chéng le fù wēng.
He used to be utterly destitute, now he's a millionaire.
，。
Nà shí tā men jiā jiā tú sì bì, shēng huó fēi cháng jiān kǔ.
At that time, their family had nothing but the walls; life was very hard.
家徒四壁，。
Tā suī rán jiā tú sì bì, dàn cóng bú xiàng bié rén jiè qián.
Although he is utterly destitute, he never borrows money from others.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

宀宀miánroof

Sound part声符shēngfú

𢑓

𢑓𢑓家jiā

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The early drawing of 家 showed a roof 宀 over a male-pig sign 𢑓 that gave the pronunciation; the lower part later changed shape.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辵辵chuòwalk

Sound part声符shēngfú

土

Same sound today

徒 originally paired 辵, a walking sign, with 土 to show its sound. The shape later changed into 彳 and 走.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 四 was drawn as a nose breathing out. It later came to be used for the word four.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

土辟壁

Meaning part形符xíngfú

土土tǔearth

Sound part声符shēngfú

辟

Same sound today

壁 combines 土 (earth) and 辟, which gives the sound. The whole means an earthen wall.