📖 Meaning
Known by every household; widely known and universally recognized. It describes something—often news, a name, or a concept—that has spread so thoroughly through a community or society that virtually everyone is aware of it.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom comes from the Song dynasty. It was popularized by the Song scholar and official Liu Kezhuang (刘克庄) in his literary writings. The phrase uses 喻 (yù, to inform/make known) and 晓 (xiǎo, to understand/know) to convey that information has been communicated to every family and understood by every household, emphasizing the thoroughness of its dissemination.
💡 Example Usage
孙悟空的故事在中国家喻户晓，几乎每个孩子都知道。
The story of Sun Wukong is known to every household in China; almost every child knows it.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 家喻户晓
- Pinyin: jiā yù hù xiǎo
- Literal Translation: family, inform, household, know
- Category: Communication
- Characters: 4