腰缠万贯 — “To be immensely wealthy”
腰缠万贯 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be immensely wealthy”. To be rolling in money; to have a huge fortune. Literally, “To have one's waist wrapped with ten thousand strings of cash”.
腰缠万贯 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 腰yāo
- 缠chán
- 万wàn
- 贯guàn
腰缠万贯 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 腰缠万贯
Origin and Story of 腰缠万贯
Legend has it that in ancient times, four young masters Zhao, Qian, Sun, and Li were drinking wine and discussing their aspirations by the Slender West Lake in Yangzhou.
Mr. Zhao expressed his fortune in making friends and hoped to become the prefect of Yangzhou.
Mr. Sun, however, wished to ride a red-crowned, white-feathered immortal crane to the celestial palace and spend his remaining years there.
Mr. Li then declared his ambition to be 'to have one hundred thousand strings of cash wrapped around his waist and ride an immortal crane to Yangzhou.' Everyone teased him, saying he was too impatient to drink hot porridge, implying he wanted too much too quickly.
Idioms Related to 腰缠万贯
Questions about 腰缠万贯
- What does 腰缠万贯 mean?
- 腰缠万贯 (yāo chán wàn guàn) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be immensely wealthy”.
- How do you pronounce 腰缠万贯?
- 腰缠万贯 is pronounced yāo chán wàn guàn in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 腰缠万贯 literally mean?
- Literally, 腰缠万贯 means “to have one's waist wrapped with ten thousand strings of cash”. It is used to mean “to be immensely wealthy”.
- Where does 腰缠万贯 come from?
- 腰缠万贯 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 腰缠万贯?
- 腰缠：指随身携带的财物；贯：旧时用绳索穿钱，每一千文为一贯。比喻钱财极多。