傍人门户

傍人門戶
bàngrén-ménhù
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 to be dependent on others; to live under another's roof; unable to stand on one's own

Examples

HSK 7-9
Tā bù yuàn bàngrén-ménhù, yìrán cízhí zìjǐ chuàngyè.
Unwilling to live under someone else's roof, he resolutely quit and started his own business.
HSK 7-9
Kào fùmǔ jiējì suàn shénme běnshi? Zhěngtiān bàngrén-ménhù.
What kind of skill is it to live off your parents? Just leaning on someone else day in and day out.

Tips

history
From Su Shi's 《东坡志林》: 吾辈不肖,方傍人门户,何暇争闲气耶 ('We unworthy ones are merely living under others' doors, where do we find the leisure to quarrel?'). Originally about lesser scholars depending on wealthy patrons; now any kind of dependent existence.
memory
Parse as (lean against) + (someone else's) + 门户 (door), to literally lean against another person's doorway. The image is of someone with no door of their own.

Stroke Order

bàng
rén
mén