无家可归

• Pinyin: wú jiā kě guī
• Hanzi breakdown: 无 = negation; 家 = 宀 + 豕 (roof over a pig — a household, a home); 可 = mouth assenting (can/possible to); 归 = 刀 + 帚 + 止 (a returning path — to return home)

Meaning

Homeless; having no home to return to. Describes a state of having lost or never possessed a stable place to live, often as a result of disaster, conflict, poverty, or forced displacement.

Used in humanitarian, social policy, and news contexts. Can describe both temporary displacement (after a disaster) and chronic homelessness. Common in: 流离失所、无家可归 (displaced and homeless), 无家可归者 (the homeless, as a social group), 使…无家可归 (to render someone homeless). Carries strong emotional and social resonance.

Examples

1. 特大洪灾过后，成千上万的灾区居民无家可归，政府紧急调配安置资源并建立临时避难所。 After the catastrophic floods, tens of thousands of residents in the disaster area were left homeless; the government urgently mobilized resettlement resources and set up temporary shelters.
2. 这批因战乱而流亡的难民无家可归，在边境地带漂泊已久，生活状况令人忧虑。 This group of refugees displaced by war had no home to return to and had been drifting in the border region for a long time; their living conditions are worrying.
3. 随着城市改造项目的推进，部分低收入家庭若得不到有效安置，将面临无家可归的严峻困境。 As urban renewal projects move forward, some low-income families will face the harsh prospect of homelessness if they are not effectively resettled.

Usage Guide

Context: humanitarian, social policy, journalism

Tone: negative

Do Say

• 这场地震不仅夺去了数百条生命，更使数万名幸存者在严冬中无家可归，紧急救援与过渡安置工作面临巨大的资源压力和时间压力。(This earthquake not only claimed hundreds of lives but also left tens of thousands of survivors homeless in the depths of winter, placing enormous pressure on resources and time for emergency relief and transitional resettlement efforts.)
• 社会政策研究者指出，若城市住房市场的租金涨幅长期远超低收入群体的收入增速，将有越来越多的弱势家庭陷入无家可归的边缘状态。(Social policy researchers noted that if urban housing rental costs continue to rise far faster than the income growth of low-income groups over the long term, an increasing number of vulnerable families will be pushed to the brink of homelessness.)

Don't Say

• 无家可归 for someone who is temporarily staying away from home or between residences by choice — it specifically implies involuntary, serious displacement with no stable place to return to

Origin & History

无家 (no home) + 可 (that can/is possible to) + 归 (return) — having no home to which one can return

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal