家徒四壁

Chinese

		home; family; ‑ist home; family; ‑ist; ‑er; ‑ian; measure word for stores and schools	apprentice; disciple; bare apprentice; disciple; bare; plain	four walls; from every direction
simp. and trad. (家徒四壁)		家	徒	四壁
Literally: “there is nothing in the house except four bare walls”.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): jiātúsìbì

  (Zhuyin): ㄐㄧㄚ ㄊㄨˊ ㄙˋ ㄅㄧˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gaa¹ tou⁴ sei³ bik¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: jiātúsìbì
    • Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄚ ㄊㄨˊ ㄙˋ ㄅㄧˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jiatúsìhbì
    • Wade–Giles: chia¹-tʻu²-ssŭ⁴-pi⁴
    • Yale: jyā-tú-sz̀-bì
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jiatwusyhbih
    • Palladius: цзятусыби (czjatusybi)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕi̯ä⁵⁵ tʰu³⁵ sz̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ pi⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: gaa¹ tou⁴ sei³ bik¹
    • Yale: gā tòuh sei bīk
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gaa¹ tou⁴ sei³ bik⁷
    • Guangdong Romanization: ga¹ tou⁴ séi³ big¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kaː⁵⁵ tʰou̯²¹ sei̯³³ pɪk̚⁵/

Idiom

家徒四壁

1. (figurative) very poor; wretched