一贫如洗 (yī pín rú xǐ) — extremely poor; utterly penniless

Definition

An idiom meaning 'penniless, with nothing to one's name' — stronger and more literary than the plain adjective 穷, often used to describe someone who has lost everything.

idiom

extremely poorutterly penniless

Examples

，一贫如洗。
Nà nián hóng shuǐ chōng kuǎ le tā jiā, cóng cǐ tā jiā yī pín rú xǐ.
That year the flood destroyed his home, and his family has been utterly penniless ever since.
一贫如洗，，。
Tā suī yī pín rú xǐ, dàn zhì qì bù jiǎn, réng zài nǔ lì chuàng yè.
Though he is extremely poor, his ambition remains undiminished, and he is still working hard to start a business.
，一贫如洗，。
Zhè jiā gōng sī jīng yíng bú shàn, yǐ jīng yī pín rú xǐ, bīn lín dǎo bì.
This company has mismanaged its operations, is now utterly penniless, and is on the verge of bankruptcy.

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 貧; 贫 is its simplified writing.

分貝貧

Meaning part形符xíngfú

貝貝bèimoney

Sound part声符shēngfú

分

分fēn貧pín

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 貧 has 分 above 貝, a money part. 分 gives the sound and means 'divide', giving the image of dividing one's money; the simplified 贫 is a later shorthand.

Open 贫 →

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

女口如

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

女

女nǚ如rú

Same sound today

如 is built from 口 (mouth) for its meaning and 女 (woman) for its sound.

Open 如 →

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