豁出去
huō chu qu · HSK 7
to throw caution to the wind
🎲 豁 = give up + 出去 = go out: cast it all out, go for broke
豁 huō here means to give up or sacrifice; 出去 chū qù means to go out. Together: fling everything out and stop holding back. The sense is committing fully despite the risk, like staking it all on one throw.
豁 — valley 谷 + harm 害 (phonetic)
A phono-semantic compound: 谷 (valley) gives the meaning of an open, hollow space, while 害 supplies the sound. The original sense was a wide, opening valley, which extended to ideas of openness, clearing away, and being open-minded. The reading huō reflects sudden opening (as in 豁出去), while huò appears in 豁达 'open-hearted'.
出 — foot 止 emerging from enclosure 凵
出 is a pictograph showing a foot or plant stepping out of a hollow or enclosure, depicting the act of going forth. The original sense of 'coming out' or 'emerging' has remained stable since oracle bone script. It now broadly means 'to exit, go out, or produce.'
去 — 土 earth on top + 厶 (originally 凵, a vessel/container) below
Originally a pictograph showing a person (大) departing from an enclosed area or vessel, suggesting leaving or going away. Over time the top simplified to 土 and the bottom to 厶. The core meaning 'to go, to leave, to depart' has remained stable since ancient Chinese.