一穷二白 (yī qióng èr bái) — poverty-stricken and lacking any industrial or cultural foundation; poor and blank (describing a place with no modern infrastructure)

Definition

A fixed phrase meaning both extremely poor and completely undeveloped — poverty with no industrial or cultural base. Used especially to describe a place or country starting from scratch, as in '新中国刚成立时，整个国家一穷二白'.

idiom
poverty-stricken and lacking any industrial or cultural foundationpoor and blank (describing a place with no modern infrastructure)

Examples

  • 一穷二白，。
    Nà ge shān qū guò qù yī qióng èr bái, rú jīn yǐ jīng jiàn qǐ le xué xiào hé gōng chǎng.
    That mountainous area was once poverty-stricken and blank, but now schools and factories have been built.
  • 一穷二白，。
    Wǒ men gōng sī shì zài yī qióng èr bái de jī chǔ shàng qǐ bù de, suǒ yǐ tè bié zhēn xī xiàn zài de fā zhǎn chéng guǒ.
    Our company started from a poverty-stricken and blank foundation, so we especially cherish the achievements we have now.
  • ，一穷二白，。
    Xīn zhōng guó gāng chéng lì shí, zhěng gè guó jiā yī qióng èr bái, bǎi fèi dài xīng.
    When New China was first founded, the whole country was poor and blank, with many things waiting to be built.

Origin

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 窮; 穷 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
穴穴xuécave; nest; confinement
Sound part声符shēngfú
躬
躬gōng窮qióng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 窮, 穴 (cave; nest; confinement) gives the sense and 躬 gives the sound; this is about 窮, not the simplified 穷.

Open 穷 →

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

二 is drawn as two parallel strokes, where the number of strokes shows the amount.

Open 二 →

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

白 is thought to picture either an acorn or a human head.

Open 白 →

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