倚门倚闾 — “To eagerly await a child's return”

倚门倚闾 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to eagerly await a child's return”. To long for one's child to come home, often implying parental yearning and anxiety. Literally, “Leaning against the door, leaning against the village gate”.

Frequency

倚门倚闾 Pronunciation and Pinyin

倚门倚闾 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
倚	yǐ	10	lean against or rely on
门	mén	3	door, gate, entrance
倚	yǐ	10	lean against or rely on
闾	lǘ	9	residential area or community

Example Sentence with 倚门倚闾

每逢佳节，许多父母都会倚门倚闾，盼望远方的孩子能回家团聚。

During every festive season, many parents eagerly await their children's return home for a reunion.

Origin and Story of 倚门倚闾

Wangsun Jia, a member of King Qi's royal clan, was summoned to the palace at the age of 15 to serve as King Qi's attendant. His mother loved him dearly. Whenever he went to court, she would repeatedly admonish him to return early. If he came home late, his mother would anxiously lean against the door outside, waiting for his return.

In 284 BC, King Zhaowang of Yan sent Yue Yi to attack the state of Qi and quickly captured its capital, Linzi. King Qi fled in panic to Yingcheng.

On that day, Wangsun Jia was not by King Qi's side. Hearing of the king's escape, he hurried to search for him, but unable to find King Qi, he had to return home.

His mother saw him and asked, "The Yan army has arrived, why did you not protect King Qi?" Wangsun Jia replied, "I don't know where the King is." His mother was very angry and said, "If you came home late every day, I would lean against our doorstep waiting. Since you are the King's attendant, how could you not know where he went? What are you doing coming home then!" Ashamed after hearing this, Wangsun Jia immediately left home again to inquire about King Qi's whereabouts.