📖 Meaning
This idiom means 'all kinds and all sorts.' It describes a wide variety of categories, styles, or types. It is commonly used to characterize a diverse collection of people, things, or situations.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the Qing dynasty novel 'Qiludeng' (歧路灯, The Lamp on the Crooked Road) by Li Lüyuan, specifically Chapter 87. In the passage, the character Sheng Gongzi delivers a speech that vividly describes all the various kinds of people among officials' relatives who come to take up posts, portraying each type in thorough detail. Over time the expression came to be used broadly to denote diversity and variety in any context.
💡 Example Usage
街市上人来人往，各色各样的人物都有。
People came and went through the marketplace, and all manner of individuals could be found there.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 各色各样
- Pinyin: gè sè gè yàng
- Literal Translation: each, kind, each, kind
- Category: Variety
- Characters: 4