📖 Meaning
One's closest blood relatives and immediate family members. The phrase uses 'bone and flesh' as a metaphor for the unbreakable bonds of kinship shared by those most intimately related.
📜 Origin Story
This phrase originates from Volume 2 of 'Slapping the Table in Amazement' (初刻拍案惊奇), a celebrated collection of vernacular short stories by the Ming dynasty writer Ling Mengchu (凌濛初). The original passage notes that only those who are closest kin—family members constantly present—would be attentive enough to perceive subtle signs of distress. The expression has since become a standard term for one's most intimate blood relatives.
💡 Example Usage
他们虽非至亲骨肉，却情同手足，患难与共。
Though they are not closest blood relatives, they are like brothers, sharing hardships together.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 至亲骨肉
- Pinyin: zhì qīn gǔ ròu
- Literal Translation: closest, relative, bone, flesh
- Category: Status
- Characters: 4