贫贱之知 — “A friend made during one's humble or impoverished days”

Q: What is the Chinese definition of 贫贱之知?

贫困时结交的知心朋友。同“贫贱之交”。

贫贱之知 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a friend made during one's humble or impoverished days”. Implying a deep and enduring bond forged through shared difficulties.

Frequency

贫贱之知 Pronunciation and Pinyin

贫贱之知 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
贫	pín	8	poor, lacking, deficient
贱	jiàn	9	cheap, lowly, despicable
之	zhī	4	possessive or connective particle
知	zhī	8	to know, be aware, understand

Example Sentence with 贫贱之知

他虽然现在事业有成，但从未忘记那些在他最困难时期帮助过他的贫贱之知。

Although he is successful in his career now, he has never forgotten his true friends who helped him during his most difficult times.

Origin and Story of 贫贱之知

During the early Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu (Liu Xiu) appointed Song Hong, who had served as a Chamberlain during the Western Han Dynasty, promoting him to Grand Master.

The emperor's sister, who was widowed, admired Song Hong. Emperor Guangwu wanted to marry his sister to Song Hong, so he asked Song Hong for his views on the saying, 'One changes friends when becoming noble, and changes wives when becoming rich'.

Song Hong replied, 'Friends made in humble times should not be forgotten, and a wife who shared your hardships should not be abandoned'. Hearing this, Emperor Guangwu had no choice but to drop the idea.