背井离乡

bèi jǐng lí xiāng

to leave home, usually because you must

Character by character

背bèi
turn one’s back on

井jǐng
the well

离lí
leave

乡xiāng
home village

为了挣钱，他们背井离乡，到沿海城市打工。

To earn money they left home to work in the coastal cities.

Tone: neutral.

The village well stands for home.

Learn this in Lesson 8 · HSK 5: 户口制度 (The hukou system)

A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.