📖 Meaning
Describes the complex, uneasy feelings of a traveler returning home after a long absence. The closer one gets to home, the more anxious one becomes, dreading that something unfortunate may have happened there. It captures the bittersweet mix of longing, anticipation, and fear that accompanies a long-awaited homecoming.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom comes from the Tang dynasty poem 'Hanjiang' by the poet Song Zhiwen. Exiled to the remote region south of the Ling mountains, he was cut off from all letters from home through winter and spring. Finally allowed to return, he wrote: 'The closer I get to home, the more timid my heart grows; I dare not ask the passersby' (近乡情更怯，不敢问来人). The lines reveal that after years without news, he feared the worst and hesitated to learn the truth about his family, giving rise to this expression for the anxious feelings of a returning wanderer.
💡 Example Usage
离家多年，如今踏上回乡的火车，我竟有些近乡情怯。
After years away from home, now boarding the train back, I find myself feeling oddly timid as we draw near.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 近乡情怯
- Pinyin: jìn xiāng qíng qiè
- Literal Translation: near, hometown, feelings, timid
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4