寸 土 寸 金

cùn tǔ cùn jīndictionary entry

land is extremely expensive (in that area) (idiom)

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-90c31155b5b90453. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

寸土寸金寸土寸金 [cun4 tu3 cun4 jin1] /land is extremely expensive (in that area) (idiom)/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

寸
cùn
a unit of length / inch / thumb
土
tǔ
earth / dust / clay / local / indigenous / crude opium / unsophisticated / one of the eight categories of ancient musical instruments 八音[bā yīn]
Tǔ
surname Tu / Tu ethnic group
寸
cùn
a unit of length / inch / thumb
金
jīn
gold / chemical element Au / generic term for lustrous and ductile metals / money / golden / highly respected / one of the eight categories of ancient musical instruments 八音[bā yīn]
Jīn
surname Jin / surname Kim (Korean) / Jurchen Jin dynasty (1115–1234)

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.