路人皆知 (lù rén jiē zhī) — (chengyu) known to everyone, a household name

Definition

A chengyu meaning 'known to everyone' or 'an open secret' — used for scandals, conflicts, or facts that have stopped being hidden. Often implies the truth is obvious even if no one says it aloud.

idiom
(chengyu) known to everyonea household name

Examples

  • 路人皆知，。
    Zhè jiàn shì yǐ jīng lù rén jiē zhī, nǐ jiù bú yòng zài yǐn mán le.
    This matter is already known to everyone, so you don't need to hide it anymore.
  • ，路人皆知。
    Zài nà ge xiǎo chéng lǐ, tā de míng shēng lù rén jiē zhī.
    In that small town, his reputation is a household name.
  • 路人皆知，。
    Tā men de máo dùn zǎo yǐ lù rén jiē zhī, zhǐ shì méi rén gōng kāi tán lùn.
    Their conflict has long been an open secret; people just don't talk about it openly.

Origin

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
足足zú
Sound part声符shēngfú
各
各gè路lù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

路 combines 足, a foot, with 各, which supplies the sound.

Open 路 →

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

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
虍虍hū
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
几
几jǐ皆jiē
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The early form 皆 used 虍 and 口 to show meaning and 几 to show sound.

Open 皆 →

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

An early form of 知 showed 大 (adult), 口 (mouth), and 子 (child): an adult speaking to a child to pass on knowledge. The 子 part was dropped, and the 大 part changed shape.

Open 知 →

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