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不名一文

bù míng yī wéndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
without a penny to one's name / penniless / stony-broke
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-f6e53bafad0e2ffa. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

不名一文 不名一文 [bu4 ming2 yi1 wen2] /without a penny to one's name/penniless/stony-broke/

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.

  • 不
    bù

    no / not so / (bound form) not / un-

  • 名
    míng

    name / noun (part of speech) / place (e.g. among winners) / famous / classifier for people

  • 一
    yī

    one / single / a (article) / as soon as / entire / whole / all / throughout / "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1) / also pr. [yāo] for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit

  • 文
    wén

    language / culture / writing / formal / literary / gentle / (old) classifier for coins / Kangxi radical 67

    Wén

    surname Wen

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.