📖 Meaning
Literally 'one son or half a daughter,' this idiom refers to having at least one child, whether a son or a daughter. It is used to describe having any offspring at all, especially in contexts where continuing a family line or securing an heir is important. The phrase carries a modest, humble tone, suggesting that even one child would be enough.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from 'Zhi Cheng Zhang Zhu Guan,' a story in the Jingben Tongsu Xiaoshuo (Capital Edition Popular Stories), a Song dynasty collection of vernacular short stories. In the tale, an elderly manager (员外) is urged to take a wife so that he might have at least one son or daughter, thus preventing his family's incense-offering lineage from dying out. The expression reflects the traditional Chinese concern with continuing the family line through offspring. Over time, it became a common way to refer to having any child at all, regardless of gender.
💡 Example Usage
他年过半百膝下无一男半女，心中难免感到孤独。
Past fifty with not a single son or daughter, he inevitably felt lonely.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 一男半女
- Pinyin: yī nán bàn nǚ
- Literal Translation: one, son, half, daughter
- Category: Status
- Characters: 4