挨家挨户

• Pinyin: āi jiā āi hù
• Hanzi breakdown: 挨 = 扌(hand) + 矣 (phonetic); 家 = 宀 (roof) + 豕 (pig); 户 = pictograph of a door

Meaning

Door to door; house to house; from one household to another.

An idiom describing going to every house in sequence. Used for activities like canvassing, surveys, deliveries, or searches. Emphasizes thoroughness and systematic coverage of all residences.

Examples

1. 志愿者们挨家挨户地宣传垃圾分类知识。 Volunteers went door to door promoting garbage sorting knowledge.
2. 警察挨家挨户地调查，终于找到了目击证人。 The police investigated house by house and finally found an eyewitness.
3. 快递员每天挨家挨户送包裹，工作量非常大。 The courier delivers packages door to door every day — the workload is enormous.

Usage Guide

Context: everyday, professional

Tone: descriptive

Do Say

• 他们挨家挨户地收集签名。(They collected signatures door to door.)
• 社区工作者挨家挨户通知居民。(Community workers notified residents house by house.)

Don't Say

• 说'挨家挨户地给一个人送东西' (Don't use 挨家挨户 when visiting just one place — it implies multiple households)

Origin & History

挨 means 'next to' or 'one by one,' 家 means 'family/house,' 户 means 'household.' The repetition emphasizes going to each one in turn.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal