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四海為家

简四海为家 · 繁四海為家

Mandarin · pinyin sì hǎi wéi jiā

to regard the four corners of the world all as home (idiom)
to feel at home anywhere
to roam about unconstrained
to consider the entire country, or world, to be one's own

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Characters in this entry

四: sì · four
海: hǎi · sea, ocean; maritime
為: Look up this written character
家: jiā · house, home, residence; family
为: wèi · do, handle, govern, act; be

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–3–2–1 · si4 hai3 wei2 jia1

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

四海為家 · find source passages ↗ · 四海为家 · find source passages ↗

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to make one's home wherever one is; to consider the entire country, or world, to be one's own; to live a wandering life

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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