非亲非故 (fēi qīn fēi gù) — neither relative nor friend; no personal connection

Definition

Idiom meaning 'neither kin nor acquaintance' — emphasizes having no personal tie whatsoever to someone. Often used to express surprise that a stranger helped or showed kindness.

idiom
neither relative nor friendno personal connection

Examples

  • 非亲非故，？
    Wǒ gēn tā fēi qīn fēi gù, tā wèi shén me yuàn yì bāng wǒ?
    He's neither a relative nor a friend of mine — why is he willing to help me?
  • 非亲非故，。
    Suī rán wǒ men fēi qīn fēi gù, dàn tā hái shì rè qíng dì jiē dài le wǒ.
    Although we have no personal connection, he still warmly received me.
  • 非亲非故，。
    Yí gè fēi qīn fēi gù de rén tū rán gěi wǒ jì lái lǐ wù, ràng wǒ hěn jīng yà.
    A person with no connection to me suddenly sent me a gift, which surprised me a lot.

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.

非亲not relatives
非fēinot亲qīnrelatives
偏正Modifier + head
非故not old ties
非fēinot故gùold ties
偏正Modifier + head

非亲非故 pairs 非亲 (not relatives) and 非故 (not old ties) to say no personal connection.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 非 is drawn from two wings facing opposite directions. It later came to be used for going against or not being.

Open 非 →

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 親; 亲 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànsee
Sound part声符shēngfú
辛
辛xīn親qīn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 親 uses 見 (see) for sense and 辛 (a chisel) for sound; the simplified 亲 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 亲 →

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

The shape of 非 is drawn from two wings facing opposite directions. It later came to be used for going against or not being.

Open 非 →

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
攵Written in full as攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
古
古gǔ故gù
Same sound today

故 uses 古 for the sound and 攵, written in full as 攴, for the meaning.

Open 故 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.