📖 Meaning
To go from door to door, visiting every single household without exception. It describes a thorough, exhaustive coverage of houses in an area, often used for distributing things, conducting surveys, or seeking information.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase appears in the Qing dynasty novel Shuo Yue Quan Zhuan (说岳全传) by Qian Cai, which narrates the legendary life of the Song dynasty general Yue Fei. In the sixty-first chapter, after Yue Fei and his sons are wrongly executed, sympathetic citizens organize to petition on his behalf. The people are described as going from door to door distributing copies of the grievance, gathering signatures on a collective memorial to seek justice for the wronged general.
💡 Example Usage
地震之后，工作人员挨门逐户地查询居民的安全情况。
After the earthquake, relief workers went door to door checking on the safety of every resident.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 挨门逐户
- Pinyin: āi mén zhú hù
- Literal Translation: 挨, door, pursue, household
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4