街头巷尾 (jiē tóu xiàng wěi) — throughout the streets and lanes; in every nook and cranny of the city; everywhere

Definition

A chengyu meaning 'everywhere in the city — every street and alley'. Emphasizes thorough physical coverage of a place, used in writing and speeches rather than casual talk.

idiom
throughout the streets and lanesin every nook and cranny of the cityeverywhere

Examples

  • 街头巷尾。
    Zhè ge xiāo xi zài jiē tóu xiàng wěi chuán kāi le.
    This news spread throughout every street and lane.
  • 街头巷尾。
    jiē tóu xiàng wěi Dōu néng kàn dào rén men dài zhe kǒu zhào.
    You can see people wearing masks everywhere — on every street and lane.
  • 街头巷尾，。
    Tā zǒu biàn le jiē tóu xiàng wěi, zhōng yú zhǎo dào le nà jiā lǎo diàn.
    He walked through every street and lane before finally finding that old shop.

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.

街头street corner
街jiēstreet头tóuend
偏正Modifier + head
巷尾lane end
巷xiànglane尾wěiend
偏正Modifier + head

街 is the street, 巷 the lane, and 头 and 尾 mark their ends, covering everywhere.

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
行行xíng
Sound part声符shēngfú
圭
圭guī街jiē
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

街 combines 行 and 圭: 行 is the meaning part, and 圭 is the sound part. Originally, 圭 drew a pair of ritual axes, not earth.

Open 街 →

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 頭; 头 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
豆
豆dòu頭tóu
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 頭 shows 頁, meaning head, beside 豆 as a sound component; the simplified 头 is a later shorthand.

Open 头 →

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
己己jǐoneself
Sound part声符shēngfú
共
共gòng巷hàng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

巷 is made from 共, read gòng, and 己, meaning 'oneself'.

Open 巷 →

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

The form 尾 combines 尸 (person) and 毛 (hair; feather).

Open 尾 →

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