家喻户晓 - expressing "known by everyone"
HSK 6
家喻户晓 (jiāyùhùxiǎo) is one of the HSK 6 chengyus that means "known by every household" or "widely known by everyone". The English noun “household name” has the same meaning.
The idiom is made out of four characters: 家 (jiā) - meaning home or family, 喻 (yù) - make known, to explain, 户 (hù) - household or door and 晓 (xiǎo) - to know or understand. It is often used to describe something or someone extremely famous or well-known, such as a popular figure, story, product, or event.
Sample Sentences
他是一个家喻户晓的歌手。He is a singer known by everyone.
白雪公主是家喻户晓的童话人物。Snow White is a fairy tale character known by everyone.
从前在我们乡下，有哪家子弟考上大学，那必是家喻户晓的大新闻。In the past, in our village, if a family’s child got into university, it would undoubtedly be big news known by everyone.
In a Text
我们说可口可乐家喻户晓正是其持续投放广告的一个结果，然而“家喻户晓”从来都是靠不住的——我们来看一个曾经“家喻户晓”的典型例子——健力宝，当年被称之为“东方魔水”的健力宝是本图软饮料市场的一个奇迹。
其出色的广告让其坐上了国内饮料市场第一的宝座，1997年销售额达到了惊人的55亿，是百事可乐和可口可乐在中国销量的总和，那时橙色易拉罐的健力宝是众多80后童年的集体回忆，用“家喻户晓”形容一点都不为过，但如今对于95后、00后而言，很多人并不知道健力宝为何物。
We say that Coca-Cola is a household name, and this is the result of its continuous advertising investment. However, "being a household name" is never reliable. Let's look at a typical example of something that was once "known by every household" — Jianlibao. Known as the "Eastern Magic Water," Jianlibao was a miracle in the soft drink market at that time.
Its outstanding advertising helped it rise to the top of the domestic beverage market, with sales reaching an astonishing 5.5 billion yuan in 1997, surpassing the combined sales of Pepsi and Coca-Cola in China. At that time, the orange pull-tab cans of Jianlibao were a collective memory for many in the post-80s generation. Describing it as "a household name" is not an exaggeration. However, for those born after 1995 or 2000, many people don't even know what Jianlibao is.
