低头思故乡

低頭思故鄉

dītóusīgùxiāng

phrase

Meanings

1 to bow one's head and think of home
2 lower the head, thinking of one's native land

Characters

to think of / miss

hometown / village

Examples

每逢中秋，他总会低头思故乡。

Měi féng Zhōngqiū, tā zǒng huì dītóu sī gùxiāng.

Every Mid-Autumn Festival, he always lowers his head and thinks of home.

海外游子读到这句，没有不低头思故乡的。

Hǎiwài yóuzǐ dú dào zhè jù, méiyǒu bù dītóu sī gùxiāng de.

No overseas wanderer reads this line without bowing their head and longing for home.

Tips

history

From Li Bai's 《静夜思》 (Tang dynasty): 床前明月光，疑是地上霜。举头望明月，低头思故乡。 The poem's final couplet pairs raising the head to see the bright moon with lowering it to remember home — arguably the most memorized poem in Chinese.

culture

Synonymous with homesickness itself in modern Chinese. Every schoolchild learns 《静夜思》, and this line is routinely quoted at Mid-Autumn Festival and Spring Festival.

Stroke Order

低 dī

头 tóu

思 sī

故 gù

乡 xiāng