五湖四海

wǔhú-sìhǎi
idiom #68,014

Meanings

  1. 1 the five lakes and four seas
  2. 2 all parts of the country; from everywhere
  3. 3 (sometimes) the whole world

Examples

HSK 4
Wǒmen láizì wǔhúsìhǎi, jù zài zhè suǒ dàxué.
We come from all over the country, gathered at this university.
HSK 7-9
Tā zǒubiàn wǔhúsìhǎi, jiànshi hěn guǎng.
He has traveled far and wide, with broad experience.
HSK 7-9
Zhè jiā gōngsī de kèhù biànbù wǔhúsìhǎi.
This company's clients are spread across the whole country.

Tips

history
The component parts go back to antiquity - 五湖 appears in 《周礼》, 四海 in 《论语》 (四海之内,皆兄弟也, 'within the four seas, all men are brothers'). Fused as a single idiom by the Tang, it became famous in modern times through Mao's eulogy 《为人民服务》.
culture
The 'five lakes' originally meant specific lakes around 太湖; 'four seas' reflected an old worldview where China was bordered by oceans on all four sides. The idiom long ago shed the geography and just means 'everywhere.'

Stroke Order

hǎi