披麻戴孝
pī má dài xiào
to wear mourning (for a parent or grandparent)
Character by character
披pī
drape
drape
麻má
sackcloth
sackcloth
戴dài
wear
wear
孝xiào
mourning
mourning
Example
老人去世的那天，几个儿女都披麻戴孝，跪在灵堂里。
On the day the old man died, his sons and daughters all put on mourning and knelt in the mourning hall.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
麻 is coarse hemp sackcloth and 孝 white mourning dress, worn by children and grandchildren. Today it describes a traditional funeral, or 为父母披麻戴孝, to mourn one’s parents properly.
Learn this in Lesson 44 · HSK 5–6: 白事与清明 (Funerals and remembering the dead)
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.
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