无家可归
wú jiā kě guī · HSK 7
homeless
🏚️ 无家可归 = without (无) + home (家) + able to (可) + return (归): no home to return to
Four-character idiom literally stacking 无 no, 家 home, 可 can, 归 return. The pieces spell out the meaning: having no home one can go back to, i.e. homeless.
无 — top 一 + 林-like middle + fire radical 灬 below
Originally a pictograph of a person dancing while holding ornaments or tassels, meaning 'to dance' — the ancestor of 舞. It was borrowed phonetically to write the negative 'not have / without,' and the dance meaning was reassigned to 舞 with an added foot element. The simplified form 无 comes from an ancient variant.
家 — roof 宀 + pig 豕
Originally a pictograph of a pig under a roof, since domesticated pigs were kept in or under the home in ancient China. Over time the meaning broadened from 'household' to 'family,' and by extension 'home' or a specialist (as in 专家, 'expert').
可 — mouth 口 + breath marker 丁 (modified)
可 originally depicted a mouth (口) with a curved stroke suggesting exhaled breath or speech, conveying approval or assent. From this came the meaning 'to permit' or 'can,' as granting permission was expressed verbally. Today it broadly means 'may,' 'can,' or 'approve.'
归 — 阜 (mound) + 帚 (broom) + 止 (foot)
Originally depicted a bride being escorted to her husband's home, with 帚 (broom) symbolizing her domestic role and 止 (foot) showing movement. The meaning shifted from 'a woman returning to her marital home' to the broader sense of 'to return' or 'go back'. The 阜 component suggests the journey involved.