贫贱之交 — “Friends made in humble or impoverished circumstances”
贫贱之交 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Friends made in humble or impoverished circumstances”. True friends who stood by you through hard times. Literally, “Friends from humble beginnings”.
贫贱之交 Pronunciation and Pinyin
贫贱之交 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 贫贱之交
Origin and Story of 贫贱之交
During the early Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu (Liu Xiu) appointed Song Hong, who had previously served as a chamberlain in the Western Han, promoting him to Grand Master of the Imperial Household.
Liu Xiu's sister, a widow, took a liking to Song Hong. Emperor Liu Xiu, wanting to marry his sister to Song Hong, discreetly asked Song Hong about his views on the saying, 'It's easy to change friends when one becomes noble, and easy to change wives when one becomes rich.'
Song Hong replied with conviction, 'One should never forget friends made during humble times, nor abandon the wife who shared hardships with you.' Hearing this, Liu Xiu had no choice but to drop the idea of the marriage.
Idioms Related to 贫贱之交
Synonyms of 贫贱之交
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
Recommended tools
Picture Worksheets
Chinese and English fill-in vocabulary worksheets
Open the tool →
Chinese Text Image Generator
Create PNGs with pinyin, highlight character parts or remove strokes
Open the tool →
Writing Worksheets
Printable tracing sheets with a QR learning companion
Open the tool →
Character Highlight Animator
Choose character parts and animate their colors, together or in stroke order
Open the tool →Questions about 贫贱之交
What does 贫贱之交 mean?
贫贱之交 (pín jiàn zhī jiāo) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Friends made in humble or impoverished circumstances”.
How do you pronounce 贫贱之交?
贫贱之交 is pronounced pín jiàn zhī jiāo in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 贫贱之交 literally mean?
Literally, 贫贱之交 means “Friends from humble beginnings”. It is used to mean “Friends made in humble or impoverished circumstances”.
Where does 贫贱之交 come from?
贫贱之交 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 贫贱之交?
贫困时结交的知心朋友。