民 脂 民 膏

mín zhī mín gāodictionary entry

lit. the fat and wealth of the people (idiom) / the nation's hard-won wealth (esp. as an object of unscrupulous exploitation) / the people's blood, sweat and tears

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-efc9e568de22836c. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

民脂民膏 民脂民膏 [min2 zhi1 min2 gao1] /lit. the fat and wealth of the people (idiom); the nation's hard-won wealth (esp. as an object of unscrupulous exploitation)/the people's blood, sweat and tears/

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.

民
mín
(bound form) the people / inhabitants of a country
Mín
surname Min
脂
zhī
fat / rouge (cosmetics) / resin
民
mín
(bound form) the people / inhabitants of a country
Mín
surname Min
膏
gāo
ointment / paste / CL:帖[tiě]
gào
to moisten / to grease / to apply (cream, ointment) / to dip a brush in ink

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.