The New Dictionary.
Search dictionary
Chinese/Dictionary entry

人为财死，鸟为食亡

rén wèi cái sǐ , niǎo wèi shí wángdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. human beings will die for riches, just as birds will for food (idiom) / fig. man will do anything in his means to become rich
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-cc59bfc1150c5e1c. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

人為財死，鳥為食亡 人为财死，鸟为食亡 [ren2 wei4 cai2 si3 , niao3 wei4 shi2 wang2] /lit. human beings will die for riches, just as birds will for food (idiom)/fig. man will do anything in his means to become rich/

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: 人為財死，鳥為食亡

  • 人
  • 为
    wéi

    as (in the capacity of) / to take sth as / to act as / to serve as / to behave as / to become / to be / to do / by (in the passive voice)

    wèi

    because of / for / to

  • 财
    cái

    money / wealth / riches / property / valuables

  • 死
    sǐ

    to die / impassable / uncrossable / inflexible / rigid / extremely / damned

  • 鸟
    diǎo

    penis

    niǎo

    bird / CL:隻|只[zhī],群[qún] / "bird" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 196) / (dialect) to pay attention to / (intensifier) damned / goddamn

  • 为
    wéi

    as (in the capacity of) / to take sth as / to act as / to serve as / to behave as / to become / to be / to do / by (in the passive voice)

    wèi

    because of / for / to

  • 食
    shí

    to eat / food / animal feed / eclipse

    sì

    to feed (a person or animal)

  • 亡
    wáng

    to die / to lose / to be gone / to flee / deceased

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.