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捞钱 (lāo qián) — (colloquial, derogatory) to make money by shady or opportunistic means, to grab money

Definition

捞钱 means 'to grab/scoop up money' in a shady or opportunistic way — the verb 捞 implies fishing something out, so the connotation is always negative (cheating, exploiting, scalping, corruption).

verb
(colloquial, derogatory) to make money by shady or opportunistic means, to grab money

Examples

  • 捞钱，。
    Tā lì yòng zhí wù zhī biàn lāo qián, zuì hòu bèi kāi chú le.
    He used his position to grab money and was eventually fired.
  • 捞钱，。
    Zhè xiē rén kào dǎo mài mén piào lāo qián, tài bú dào dé le.
    These people make money by scalping tickets — it's really unethical.
  • 。
    Tā zài nà bǐ shēng yì zhōng lāo le yí dà bǐ qián.
    He scooped up a huge sum of money from that deal.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

捞lāoscoop up
钱qiánmoney

捞 means to scoop up and 钱 means money, so the sense is grabbing money, often by dubious means.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 撈; 捞 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
勞
勞láo撈lāo
Same sound today

The traditional form 撈 has 扌, a hand, and 勞 for sound; the simplified 捞 is a later shorthand.

Open 捞 →

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 錢; 钱 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīnmetal; gold; money
Sound part声符shēngfú
戔
戔jiān錢qián
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 錢 combines 金, meaning metal or money, with 戔, which gives the sound; the simplified 钱 is a later shorthand.

Open 钱 →
Appears in
Money & Currency

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