家喻户晓
- Literal
- understood in every family, known in every household
- Figurative
- So well known there is not a household that hasn't heard of it: a person, a story, or a brand that everybody recognizes.
Where does 家喻户晓 come from?
It does not come from a particular story: it is a formula built on parallelism, with two pairs that say much the same thing — 家 ("family") with 喻 ("to grasp") and 户 ("household") with 晓 ("to know"). The doubling is what conveys that the news has reached every last corner. It tends to go with names, works, and characters, and it carries a note of admiration, though it works just as well for things that are famous without deserving it.
How is 家喻户晓 used? Two examples
- 这个牌子在国内家喻户晓,但在国外没什么人知道。
This brand is a household name back home, but hardly anyone abroad has heard of it.
- 他因为那部电视剧一夜之间家喻户晓。
That TV series made him a household name overnight.