Chinese word

各奔东西

Pronunciation

Pinyingè bèn dōng xī

Meaning

  • idiomscatter

Example

毕业后，老同学们都各奔东西。bì yè hòu lǎo tóng xué men dōu gè bèn dōng xī

After graduation, the old classmates all scattered.

Illustration for 各奔东西 (scatter)

More examples

电影散场时，人群慢慢各奔东西。diàn yǐng sàn chǎng shí rén qún màn màn gè bèn dōng xī

When the movie ended, the crowd slowly went their separate ways.

Core concept

People leave a shared place or group by taking different routes, each moving away from the others.

Common phrases

  • 毕业时各奔东西bì yè shí gè bèn dōng xī

    scatter at graduation

  • 散会后大家各奔东西sàn huì hòu dà jiā gè bèn dōng xī

    everyone scatters after the meeting

Similar words

分道扬镳fēn dào yáng biāo: Separate onto different paths, often suggesting a split in aims or courses.
各走各路gè zǒu gè lù: Follow separate ways after a group breaks up, in plain conversational language.
四散而去sì sàn ér qù: Spread out and leave in several directions from a common place.

Definition in Chinese

各自向不同方向分散或分别，常用来形容人群或伙伴在分别时各走各路。gè zì xiàng bù tóng fāng xiàng fēn sàn huò fēn bié cháng yòng lái xíng róng rén qún huò huǒ bàn zài fēn bié shí gè zǒu gè lù

Word origin

各 (gè, "each") + 奔 (bēn, "hurry") + 东西 (dōngxī, "east and west") presents people hurrying off in different directions.

Usage tips

  • In conversational Chinese, this idiom often sounds more written or story-like than a plain spoken description, so everyday speech may use simpler wording when people part.

Other meanings

  • go their separate waysidiom

Word lists with this word