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典妻鬻子
典妻鬻子
典妻鬻子
典妻鬻子
典妻鬻子
典妻鬻子
典妻鬻子
典妻鬻子
典妻鬻子

典妻鬻子 — “To pawn one's wife and sell one's children”

典妻鬻子 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to pawn one's wife and sell one's children”. To be extremely impoverished; to suffer from dire poverty. Literally, “pawn wife, sell children”.

Frequency

典妻鬻子 Pronunciation and Pinyin

典妻鬻子 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order
CharacterPinyinStrokesMeaning
典
diǎn8classic standard ceremony mortgage
妻
qī8wife
鬻
yù22to sell or nurture
子
zǐ3son, child, seed, small thing

Example Sentence with 典妻鬻子

在旧社会,有些家庭因连年灾荒,生活无以为继,不得不典妻鬻子,以求生存。
In the old society, some families, due to continuous years of famine and being unable to sustain their livelihood, had no choice but to pawn their wives and sell their children to survive.

Idioms Related to 典妻鬻子

More idioms starting with 典

  • diǎn典cè册gāo高wén文important classical documents and profound literary works
  • diǎn典zé则jùn俊yǎ雅dignified, elegant, and graceful
  • diǎn典zhāng章wén文wù物historical statutes, institutions, and cultural relics
  • diǎn典mó谟xùn训gào诰ancient classic texts and canons
  • diǎn典shēn身mài卖mìng命dedicate one's life and all

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Questions about 典妻鬻子

What does 典妻鬻子 mean?

典妻鬻子 (diǎn qī yù zǐ) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to pawn one's wife and sell one's children”.

How do you pronounce 典妻鬻子?

典妻鬻子 is pronounced diǎn qī yù zǐ in Mandarin Chinese.

What does 典妻鬻子 literally mean?

Literally, 典妻鬻子 means “pawn wife, sell children”. It is used to mean “to pawn one's wife and sell one's children”.

What is the Chinese definition of 典妻鬻子?

典:典当;鬻:卖。典卖妻子。形容生活极其贫困。

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