無家可歸 / 无家可归
wújiākěguī
To say homeless in Chinese, use 無家可歸 / 无家可归 (wújiākěguī). If unsure, use 無家可歸 / 无家可归. Wiktionary also lists 露宿街頭 / 露宿街头 (lùsù jiētóu).
Meaning: lacking a permanent residence (adj)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 無家可歸 / 无家可归 | wújiākěguī |
| 露宿街頭 / 露宿街头 | lùsù jiētóu |
无家可归 is the standard way to say homeless. It works as a four-character idiom that can also describe someone who has lost everything and has nowhere to go.
What does it mean word for word?
無家可歸 literally means no home to which one can return.
Which one should you use?
Use 無家可歸 for the general state of having no home. 露宿街頭 (lùsù jiētóu) literally means to sleep outdoors in the streets and describes that act specifically.
How does it change in a sentence?
無家可歸 describes a state. For a homeless person as a noun, use 流浪漢 instead.
How do you pronounce it?
In pinyin it is wújiākěguī.
Did you know?
- While 流浪漢 describes a homeless person, the word 流浪 ('liúlàng') is used in the title of the famous Chinese sci-fi novel and film 'The Wandering Earth', where it refers to the entire planet moving through space.
- While 露宿街頭 literally mentions the 'street', the character 露 specifically refers to 'dew', implying the person is exposed to the elements and the morning chill.
- The four-character structure of 無家可歸 makes it a chengyu, a type of idiom that allows it to be used metaphorically to describe feeling unwelcome or alienated even when a house is available.
Examples in context
- 在这个城市里，有许多无家可归的人需要援助。In this city, many people are in need of assistance because they are homeless.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “homeless” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
