找上门 (zhǎo shàng mén) — to come to someone's door (often uninvited), to call on someone

Definition

Usually implies trouble, a debt collector, or a problem coming to find YOU — not a friendly visit. Conveys an unwelcome or pressing caller arriving at your door.

verb
to come to someone's door (often uninvited)to call on someone

Examples

  • 找上门。
    Zuó tiān yǒu rén zhǎo shàng mén lái zhǎo nǐ.
    Yesterday someone came to the door looking for you.
  • 找上门。
    Zhài zhǔ yǐ jīng zhǎo shàng mén le sān cì le.
    The creditor has come to the door three times already.
  • 找上门。
    Jǐng chá zhǎo shàng mén diào chá zhè jiàn shì.
    The police came to the door to investigate this matter.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

找zhǎolook for
上门go to the door
上shànggo to门méndoor
动宾Verb + object

“找” means look for, “上” means go to, and “门” means door; together they mean come to someone's door.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
戈
戈gē找zhǎo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

找 pairs 扌 (hand) with 戈 as a sound part. The idea that it shows a hand looking for a halberd is only a memory trick.

Open 找 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

上 is drawn as a short horizontal line placed above a longer arc, marking a position above that arc.

Open 上 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 門; 门 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 門 pictures a gate as two door shapes side by side; the simplified 门 is a later shorthand.

Open 门 →

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