The New Dictionary.
Search dictionary
Chinese/Dictionary entry

家贫如洗

jiā pín rú xǐdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
extreme poverty (idiom) / destitute / penniless / poor as church mice
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-be10007e5e18a9b3. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

家貧如洗 家贫如洗 [jia1 pin2 ru2 xi3] /extreme poverty (idiom); destitute/penniless/poor as church mice/

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.

Other forms in these source records: 家貧如洗

  • 家
    jiā

    used in 傢伙|家伙[jiā huo] and 傢俱|家俱[jiā jù] / home / family / (polite) my (sister, uncle etc) / classifier for families or businesses / refers to the philosophical schools of pre-Han China / noun suffix for a specialist in some activity, such as a musician or revolutionary, corresponding to English -ist, -er, -ary or -ian / CL:個|个[gè]

  • 贫
    pín

    poor / inadequate / deficient / garrulous

  • 如
    rú

    as / as if / such as

  • 洗
    xǐ

    to wash / to bathe / to develop (photographs) / to shuffle (cards etc) / to erase (a recording)

    xiǎn

    used in 洗馬|洗马[xiǎn mǎ]

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.