一掷千金 (yī zhì qiān jīn) — (idiom) to squander money; to spend extravagantly and wastefully

Definition

A vivid chengyu meaning 'to throw money around' — emphasizes one lavish, wasteful spending act, not just general extravagance. Often carries a moral warning, as in 不要养成∼的习惯.

idiom
to squander moneyto spend extravagantly and wastefully

Examples

  • 一掷千金，。
    Tā měi cì qù dǔ chǎng dōu yī zhì qiān jīn, hěn kuài jiù shū guāng le jiā chǎn.
    Every time he goes to the casino, he squanders money and quickly loses his entire fortune.
  • ，一掷千金。
    Duì yì xiē fù rén lái shuō, zài shē chǐ pǐn shàng yī zhì qiān jīn zhǐ shì rì cháng shēng huó de yí bù fen.
    For some wealthy people, reckless spending on luxury goods is just part of daily life.
  • ，一掷千金。
    Nián qīng shí yào dǒng de jié jiǎn, bú yào yǎng chéng yī zhì qiān jīn de xí guàn.
    When you're young, you should learn to be frugal and not develop a habit of wasting money.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

一掷one throw
一yīone掷zhìthrow
偏正Modifier + head
千金thousand gold
千qiānthousand金jīngold
偏正Modifier + head

一掷 is a single throw, and 千金 is a thousand pieces of gold, picturing squandering money.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

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 擲; 掷 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
鄭
鄭zhèng擲zhì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 擲 uses 手 (hand) for the action and 鄭 for the sound; the simplified 掷 is a later shorthand.

Open 掷 →

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
一一yīone, signifying a number
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén千qiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

千 pairs 人, whose sound was similar, with 一, a number stroke; the extra line was explained as extension, and a thousand is a number reached by extending counting.

Open 千 →

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

金 was drawn with marks for two pieces of metal, along with a part that gave its sound; it first meant copper, then metals and gold.

Open 金 →

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