流离失所 (liú lí shī suǒ) — (chengyu) to be displaced from one's home and wander destitute; homeless and adrift

Definition

An idiom for being forced from home and left with nowhere to go, often due to war, disaster, or upheaval. Stronger than 无家可归, which just means 'homeless' — 流离失所 emphasizes the wandering and destitution.

idiom
(chengyu) to be displaced from one's home and wander destitutehomeless and adrift

Examples

  • ，。
    Zhàn zhēng shǐ xǔ duō rén liú lí shī suǒ, wú jiā kě guī.
    War caused many people to become displaced and homeless.
  • ，流离失所，。
    Hóng shuǐ guò hòu, cūn mín men liú lí shī suǒ, shēng huó shí fēn jiān nán.
    After the flood, the villagers were displaced and their lives were very difficult.
  • ，流离失所，。
    Zài nà ge dòng dàng de nián dài, wú shù jiā tíng liú lí shī suǒ, sì chù piāo bó.
    In that turbulent era, countless families were displaced and wandered everywhere.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

流离wander apart
流liúwander离líseparate
联合Side by side
失所lose one's place
失shīlose所suǒplace
动宾Verb + object

流离 'wander apart' and 失所 'lose one's place' together picture people driven away and left homeless.

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
㐬
㐬㐬流liú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

流 has 水, water, and 㐬, which gives the sound. The water part matches meanings such as flow.

Open 流 →

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 離; 离 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
隹隹zhuībird
Sound part声符shēngfú
离
离lí離lí
Same sound today

The traditional form 離 pairs 隹, a bird, with the sound part 离; the simplified 离 is a shorthand. This form first wrote a black-naped oriole, and the sound was borrowed for 'leave'.

Open 离 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape is explained as a fallen person's footprint surrounded by drops of blood; another reading pairs 手 (hand) and 乙 to show something falling from a hand.

Open 失 →

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
斤斤jīnaxe
Sound part声符shēngfú
戶
戶hù所suǒ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

所 pairs 斤, an axe, with 戶, which gives the sound hù; the old meaning was the sound of logging.

Open 所 →

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