鸡犬之声相闻

雞犬之聲相聞

jīquǎnzhīshēngxiāngwén

idiom

Meanings

1 the sounds of chickens and dogs can be heard from one village to another
2 neighboring settlements so close they hear each other's animals
3 image of the rural utopia described in the Daodejing

Characters

Examples

HSK 7-9

两个村子鸡犬之声相闻，但人们却老死不相往来。

Liǎng ge cūnzi jīquǎnzhīshēngxiāngwén, dàn rénmen què lǎosǐbùxiāngwǎnglái.

The two villages were within earshot of each other's chickens and dogs, yet the people never interacted.

HSK 7-9

在这个小镇上，邻里之间鸡犬之声相闻，关系很亲密。

Zài zhège xiǎozhèn shàng, línlǐ zhījiān jīquǎnzhīshēngxiāngwén, guānxi hěn qīnmì.

In this small town, neighbors live close enough to hear each other's animals - relationships are very close.

Tips

history

From 《老子》 chapter 80: '邻国相望，鸡犬之声相闻，民至老死不相往来。' Laozi paints an ideal of small, self-contained communities - later cited to describe places geographically close yet living wholly separate lives.

Stroke Order

鸡 jī

犬 quǎn

之 zhī

声 shēng

相 xiāng

闻 wén