贫无立锥之地 — “Extremely impoverished”
贫无立锥之地 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Extremely impoverished”. Utterly destitute; having no place to call one's own. Literally, “Poor, without a place to stand an awl”.
贫无立锥之地 Pronunciation and Pinyin
贫无立锥之地 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 贫无立锥之地
Origin and Story of 贫无立锥之地
During the Spring and Autumn period, You Meng, an entertainer in the Chu King's palace, learned that the son of the late prime minister Sun Shu'ao was living in extreme poverty after his father's death.
Feeling uneasy about this, You Meng dressed in Sun Shu'ao's attire, meticulously imitating his voice, appearance, and demeanor, and went to see the King of Chu.
The King, seeing You Meng, was moved by the vivid resemblance to his old minister. Seizing this emotional moment, You Meng recounted how Sun Shu'ao's son was utterly destitute, having 'no place to stand an awl.'
Deeply touched by the story, the King of Chu subsequently re-granted a fief to Sun Shu'ao's son.
Idioms Related to 贫无立锥之地
Synonyms of 贫无立锥之地
Antonyms of 贫无立锥之地
More idioms starting with 贫
- pín贫bù不xué学jiǎn俭Poverty compels frugality
- pín贫bù不xué学jiǎn俭，，fù富bù不xué学shē奢Poverty teaches frugality, wealth teaches extravagance
- pín贫ér儿pù曝fù富poor person flaunting wealth
- pín贫zuǐ嘴è恶shé舌sharp-tongued and unpleasant
- pín贫zuǐ嘴huá滑shé舌garrulous and sharp-tongued
- pín贫zuǐ嘴bó薄shé舌garrulous and sharp-tongued
- pín贫zuǐ嘴jiàn贱shé舌offensively talkative and sarcastic
- pín贫zuǐ嘴è饿shé舌excessively talkative and annoying
- pín贫kùn困liáo潦dǎo倒impoverished and dejected
- pín贫shì士shì市guā瓜judge people by outward appearance
- pín贫fù富bù不jūn均uneven distribution of wealth
- pín贫fù富xuán悬shū殊wide gap between rich and poor
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Open the tool →Questions about 贫无立锥之地
What does 贫无立锥之地 mean?
贫无立锥之地 (pín wú lì zhuī zhī dì) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Extremely impoverished”.
How do you pronounce 贫无立锥之地?
贫无立锥之地 is pronounced pín wú lì zhuī zhī dì in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 贫无立锥之地 literally mean?
Literally, 贫无立锥之地 means “Poor, without a place to stand an awl”. It is used to mean “Extremely impoverished”.
Where does 贫无立锥之地 come from?
贫无立锥之地 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 贫无立锥之地?
穷得连可以插下锥子那样小的地方都没有。形容穷困之极。