TongTong
Sign in

情同手足 (qíng tóng shǒu zú) — to be as close as brothers and sisters

Definition

A formal chengyu meaning 'as close as brothers' — describes a deep bond between people who aren't related by blood. Written/literary register, not used in casual speech.

idiom
to be as close as brothers and sisters

Examples

  • ，情同手足，。
    Tā men cóng xiǎo yì qǐ zhǎng dà, qíng tóng shǒu zú, gǎn qíng shēn dé hěn.
    They grew up together and are as close as brothers — their bond is very deep.
  • 情同手足，。
    Zhè liǎng wèi lǎo zhàn yǒu qíng tóng shǒu zú, jǐ shí nián lái hù xiāng bāng zhù.
    These two old comrades-in-arms are like brothers, helping each other for decades.
  • ，情同手足，。
    Suī rán bú shì qīn xiōng dì, dàn tā men qíng tóng shǒu zú, shèng sì yì jiā rén.
    Although they are not biological brothers, they are as close as brothers, closer than family.

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
青
青qīng情qíng
Same sound today

情 shows 心 (heart) beside 青, which gives the sound. The heart part points to feelings and inner states.

Open 情 →

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

同 originally drew a pipe. It is the old form of 筒.

Open 同 →

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

手 draws a five-fingered human hand: the top line is a bent middle finger, and the horizontal lines show the other four fingers.

Open 手 →

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

足 was originally drawn as a leg.

Open 足 →
Appears in
Friends & SocialIdioms & Set Phrases

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