守望相助
shǒu wàng xiāng zhù
neighbours keeping watch for one another and helping in need
Character by character
守shǒu
guard
guard
望wàng
watch
watch
相xiāng
each other
each other
助zhù
help
help
Example
这栋楼的邻居守望相助，谁家有事，大家都会来帮忙。
The neighbours in this block look out for one another; whenever a family has trouble, everyone comes to help.
Tone: positive (praise).
Usage and origin
From 《孟子》, describing an ideal village: 出入相友，守望相助，疾病相扶持. Today used of neighbourhoods and communities, and in official speeches of whole regions or countries.
Learn this in Lesson 12 · HSK 5: 小区生活与垃圾分类 (Life in the compound, and sorting the rubbish)
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.
Open the lesson →