夜不閉戶

Chinese

		night	not; no	to close; stop up; shut to close; stop up; shut; obstruct	a household; door; family
trad. (夜不閉戶)		夜	不	閉	戶
simp. (夜不闭户)		夜	不	闭	户
alternative forms		夜不閉户
Literally: “No need to close the door at night to prevent thieves”.

Etymology

From Book of Rites:

是故謀閉而不興，盜竊亂賊而不作，故外戶而不閉，是謂大同。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

---

是故谋闭而不兴，盗窃乱贼而不作，故外户而不闭，是谓大同。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Book of Rites, c. 4^th – 2^nd century BCE

Shì gù móu bì ér bùxìng, dàoqiè luàn zéi ér bùzuò, gù wàihù ér bù bì, shì wèi dàtóng. [Pinyin]

Therefore people don’t engage in intrigue or trickery, nor do they engage in robbery, theft, and rebellion. Thus, though people leave their houses they don’t close their doors. This is called “The Great Together”.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): yèbùbìhù

  (Zhuyin): ㄧㄝˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄅㄧˋ ㄏㄨˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): je⁶ bat¹ bai³ wu⁶

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: yèbùbìhù [Phonetic: yèbúbìhù]
    • Zhuyin: ㄧㄝˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄅㄧˋ ㄏㄨˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: yèbùbìhù
    • Wade–Giles: yeh⁴-pu⁴-pi⁴-hu⁴
    • Yale: yè-bù-bì-hù
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yehbubihhuh
    • Palladius: ебубиху (jebubixu)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɛ⁵¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ pi⁵¹⁻⁵³ xu⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: je⁶ bat¹ bai³ wu⁶
    • Yale: yeh bāt bai wuh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: je⁶ bat⁷ bai³ wu⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: yé⁶ bed¹ bei³ wu⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɛː²² pɐt̚⁵ pɐi̯³³ wuː²²/

Idiom

夜不閉戶

1. (figurative) The society is peaceful and thieves are gone.

   • 兩川之民，忻樂太平，夜不閉戶，路不拾遺。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
     两川之民，忻乐太平，夜不闭户，路不拾遗。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

     From: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, circa 14^th century CE

     Liǎng chuān zhī mín, xīn yuè tàipíng, yèbùbìhù, lùbùshíyí. [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   • 君臣一心，不肆干戈，不行殺伐，行人讓路，夜不閉戶，路不拾遺，四方瞻仰，稱為西方聖人。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
     君臣一心，不肆干戈，不行杀伐，行人让路，夜不闭户，路不拾遗，四方瞻仰，称为西方圣人。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

     From: Investiture of the Gods

     Jūnchén yīxīn, bù sì gāngē, bùxíng shāfá, xíngrén rànglù, yèbùbìhù, lùbùshíyí, sìfāng zhānyǎng, chēngwèi xīfāng shèngrén. [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Synonyms

• 門不夜關／门不夜关
• 門不夜扃／门不夜扃

References

• “Entry #152508”, in 重編國語辭典修訂本 [Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary] (in Chinese), National Academy for Educational Research (Taiwan), 2021.