Chinese word

无家可归

Pronunciation

Pinyinwú jiā kě guī

Meaning

  • adjectivehomeless

Example

街上无家可归的人很多。jiē shàng wú jiā kě guī de rén hěn duō

There are many homeless people on the street.

Illustration for 无家可归 (homeless)

More examples

政府应当提供住房，减少无家可归的现象。zhèng fǔ yīng dāng tí gōng zhù fáng jián shǎo wú jiā kě guī de xiàn xiàng

The government should provide housing to reduce homelessness.

Core concept

A person or life without a stable home base to return to.

Common phrases

  • 无家可归的儿童wú jiā kě guī de ér tóng

    homeless children

  • 帮助无家可归者bāng zhù wú jiā kě guī zhě

    help homeless people

  • 无家可归的现象wú jiā kě guī de xiàn xiàng

    the phenomenon of homelessness

Similar words

无家可居wú jiā kě jū: Having no suitable home or other place where a person can live.

Definition in Chinese

表示没有固定住所或无法回到家的状态或人。biǎo shì méi yǒu gù dìng zhù suǒ huò wú fǎ huí dào jiā de zhuàng tài huò rén

Word origin

无 (wú, "without") + 家 (jiā, "home") + 可 (kě, "can") + 归 (guī, "return") forms the idea of having no home to return to.

Usage tips

  • When the situation is temporary, Chinese speakers may choose a more specific phrase such as 暂时没有住处 (zànshí méiyǒu zhùchù, "temporarily have no place to stay") instead of this stronger term.

Other meanings

  • homeless personnoun
  • have no homeverb

Opposites

  • 有家可归yǒu jiā kě guīwith a home to return toadjective

Related words

  • 无家可归者wú jiā kě guī zhěhomeless personnoun

Word lists with this word