膝下 (xī xià) — (in letters) self-address to one's parents, implying filial respect; (formal/literary) one's children, especially young ones living at home
Definition
Literary/formal noun. As a self-address to one's parents in letters, it signals filial respect ('your son/daughter, at your knee'). As a third-person noun, it means one's children — younger kids still living at home.
noun
(in letters) self-address to one's parentsimplying filial respect(formal/literary) one's childrenespecially young ones living at home
Examples
- 膝下，。Fù qīn dà rén xī xià, ér zài wài yí qiè ān hǎo.Dear Father, your son is doing well outside.
- ，。Tā xī xià ér nǚ chéng qún, wǎn nián shí fēn xìng fú.He has many children (by his knee); his old age is very happy.
- ，。Fù mǔ xī xià chéng huān, shì rén shēng yí dà lè shì.Bringing joy to one's parents (at their knee) is a great pleasure in life.
Appears in
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