CHENGYU
初出茅庐(chū chū máo lú)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- literary
- Source:
- 明·罗贯中《三国演义》
MEANING
- Literal
- first leaving the thatched cottage
- Figurative meaning
- a newcomer making a first appearance, often with a striking start
ORIGIN STORY
From the story of Zhuge Liang, who left his thatched cottage to serve Liu Bei and won his first battles. It now describes anyone stepping into the world for the first time.
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“wet behind the ears”
EXAMPLES
他初出茅庐，第一次比赛就拿了奖。Tā chū chū máo lú, dì yī cì bǐsài jiù ná le jiǎng.HSK6
Fresh out of the cottage, he won a prize in his very first competition.
刚毕业的学生初出茅庐，还需要多学习。Gāng bìyè de xuésheng chū chū máo lú, hái xūyào duō xuéxí.HSK6
New graduates are just out of the cottage and still have much to learn.
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: It is neutral about experience — do not read it as praise of skill by itself.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
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TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01