发大财 (fā dà cái) — to make a big fortune, to strike it rich

Definition

发大财 means 'to strike it rich / make a fortune' — usually about sudden, large money from luck or business, not steady income.

verb

to make a big fortuneto strike it rich

。
Tā zuò shēng yi fā le yì bǐ dà cái.
He made a big fortune in business.
发大财。
Měi gè rén dōu xiǎng fā dà cái.
Everyone wants to get rich.
发大财，。
Rú guǒ nǐ fā dà cái le, bié wàng le péng you.
If you strike it rich, don't forget your friends.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

发fāmake/gain

大财big wealth

偏正Modifier + head

发 (make/gain) plus 大财 (big wealth) means to gain a large fortune.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 發; 发 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 发 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (爆发, 出发) it is 發; in others (理发, 头发) it is 髮.

The form 發, which 发 stands for in many words, was originally drawn as a bow firing an arrow.

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

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 財; 财 is its simplified writing.

貝才財

Meaning part形符xíngfú

貝貝bèishell

Sound part声符shēngfú

才

Same sound today

The traditional form 財 has 貝 (shell) next to 才, which gives the sound; the simplified 财 is a later shorthand.

Appears in