家徒四壁 (jiā) — to be utterly destitute; to have nothing but the walls in one's home
Definition
A chengyu describing a home so poor that the only things left are the four bare walls — emphasizes total destitution, stronger than simply saying 穷.
idiom
to be utterly destituteto have nothing but the walls in one's home
Examples
- 家徒四壁，。Tā yǐ qián jiā, xiàn zài chéng le fù wēng.He used to be utterly destitute, now he's a millionaire.
- ，。Nà shí tā men jiā jiā, shēng huó fēi cháng jiān kǔ.At that time, their family had nothing but the walls; life was very hard.
- 家徒四壁，。Tā suī rán jiā, dàn cóng bú xiàng bié rén jiè qián.Although he is utterly destitute, he never borrows money from others.
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