金字招牌
jīn zì zhāo pái
a gold-lettered shop sign; a trusted brand or reputation
Character by character
金jīn
gold
gold
字zì
characters
characters
招zhāo
shop
shop
牌pái
sign
sign
Example
“百年老店”这块金字招牌，是几代人用心经营出来的。
The gilded sign of a “hundred-year-old shop” was earned by generations of careful work.
Tone: positive (praise).
Usage and origin
Old shops hung signs with gilded characters; the phrase now means any brand, title or reputation that commands trust: 擦亮金字招牌 (to polish it), 砸了金字招牌 (to ruin it). Also used of universities, hospitals and labels such as 中华老字号.
Learn this in Lesson 138 · HSK 7–9: 老字号 (The time-honoured brands)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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