家长里短 (jiā cháng lǐ duǎn) — trivial family matters; domestic gossip; everyday household chit-chat

Definition

A chengyu for trivial domestic matters and household gossip — the small stuff families and neighbors chat about, contrasted with 'big' news or serious affairs.

idiom
trivial family mattersdomestic gossipeveryday household chit-chat

Examples

  • ，家长里短，。
    Tā men jù zài yì qǐ, liáo de dōu shì xiē jiā cháng lǐ duǎn, méi shén me dà shì.
    When they get together, they just chat about trivial family matters — nothing important.
  • 家长里短，。
    Bié zhěng tiān shuō zhè xiē jiā cháng lǐ duǎn, duō guān xīn yí xià guó jiā dà shì.
    Stop talking about this domestic gossip all day; pay more attention to national affairs.
  • 家长里短，。
    Lín jū dà mā zuì ài jiǎng jiā cháng lǐ duǎn, yì liáo jiù shì yí xià wǔ.
    The neighbor lady loves to talk about household trivia; once she starts, it lasts the whole afternoon.

Origin

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.

Open 家 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 長; 长 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 長 pictures an old man with long hair. The simplified 长 is a later shorthand, so its strokes do not show that original picture.

Open 长 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 裡; 里 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 里 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (里, 里面) it is 裡; in others (公里) it is 里 or 裏.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衤Written in full as衣yīclothes
Sound part声符shēngfú
里
里lǐ裡lǐ
Same sound today

The form 裡 pairs 衤 (clothes) with 里 as a sound component.

Open 里 →

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
矢矢shǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
豆
豆dòu短duǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

短 is built from 矢 and 豆. 豆 is used for its sound, while 矢 is the component linked to the meaning.

Open 短 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.