腰缠万贯 (yāo chán wàn guàn) — (idiom) extremely wealthy; very rich

Definition

Idiom meaning 'extremely wealthy' — literally 'with ten thousand strings of cash tied at the waist.' Used for someone very rich, more literary and emphatic than everyday 富有 or 有钱.

idiom
extremely wealthyvery rich

Examples

  • ，腰缠万贯。
    Tā bái shǒu qǐ jiā, rú jīn yǐ shì yāo chán wàn guàn.
    He started from scratch and is now extremely wealthy.
  • 腰缠万贯，。
    Nà wèi shāng rén yāo chán wàn guàn, dàn shēng huó fēi cháng jié jiǎn.
    That businessman is extremely wealthy, but lives very frugally.
  • 腰缠万贯。
    Tā cóng xiǎo jiù shēng zhǎng zài yāo chán wàn guàn de jiā tíng lǐ.
    He grew up in an extremely wealthy family since childhood.

Origin

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺼Written in full as肉ròuflesh
Sound part声符shēngfú
要
要yào腰yāo
Same sound today

The left part ⺼ is flesh; the right part 要 gives the sound.

Open 腰 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 纏; 缠 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìsilk
Sound part声符shēngfú
廛
廛chán纏chán
Same sound today

The traditional form 纏 combines 糸 (silk) with 廛 as the sound part; the simplified 缠 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 缠 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 萬; 万 is its simplified writing.

For 万, the form 萬 was originally a picture of a scorpion, later borrowed for its sound to write 'ten thousand'; the scorpion picture is unrelated to that number.

Open 万 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 貫; 贯 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 貫 originally showed two shells strung together; the simplified 贯 is a later abbreviation.

Open 贯 →

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