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背井离乡

bèi jǐng lí xiāngdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
to leave one's native place, esp. against one's will (idiom)
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-2266348e7fcf0504. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

背井離鄉 背井离乡 [bei4 jing3 li2 xiang1] /to leave one's native place, esp. against one's will (idiom)/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 背井離鄉

  • 背
    bēi

    to carry on one's back / (fig.) to bear; to shoulder (a burden, blame etc)

    bèi

    the back of a body or object / to turn one's back / to hide something from / to learn by heart / to recite from memory / (slang) unlucky / hard of hearing

  • 井
    jǐng

    a well / CL:口[kǒu] / neat / orderly

    Jǐng

    Jing, one of the 28 constellations of Chinese astronomy / surname Jing

  • 离
    chī

    mythical beast (archaic)

    lí

    to leave / to part from / to be away from / (in giving distances) from / without (sth) / independent of / one of the Eight Trigrams 八卦[bā guà], symbolizing fire / ☲

    Lí

    surname Li

  • 乡
    xiāng

    country or countryside / native place / home village or town / township (PRC administrative unit)

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.