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足不出户 (zú bù chū hù) — (idiom) to stay indoors; to not leave one's home

Definition

Literally 'feet don't leave the door' — a set phrase (chengyu) meaning to stay at home without going out, often because of bad weather, illness, or modern remote work.

idiom
to stay indoorsto not leave one's home

Examples

  • 足不出户，。
    Xiàn zài hěn duō rén kě yǐ zú bù chū hù gōng zuò, yīn wèi kě yǐ yòng diàn nǎo.
    Now many people can work without leaving home because they can use computers.
  • ，足不出户。
    Yīn wèi tiān qì tài lěng, tā zhěng gè zhōu mò dōu zú bù chū hù.
    Because the weather was too cold, she stayed indoors the whole weekend.
  • 足不出户。
    Wǎng shàng gòu wù ràng wǒ men zú bù chū hù jiù kě yǐ mǎi dào shì jiè gè dì de shāng pǐn.
    Online shopping lets us buy products from all over the world without leaving home.

Origin

Characters in this word

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 →

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

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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

出 combines 止 (foot) and 凵 (cave) to show a foot stepping out of a cave.

Open 出 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 戶; 户 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 戶 is a picture of half of a gate. The simplified 户 is a later shorthand, so its shape should not be read as the original parts.

Open 户 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Home & HousingIdioms & Set Phrases

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