奇货可居
qí huò kě jū
a rare commodity worth hoarding; to hold on to something scarce until it fetches a high price
Character by character
奇qí
rare
rare
货huò
goods
goods
可kě
can
can
居jū
hoard
hoard
Example
演唱会门票一开售就被抢光了，黄牛觉得奇货可居，转手加价好几倍。
The concert tickets sold out the moment they went on sale, and the touts, sitting on a rare commodity, resold them at several times the price.
Tone: negative (criticism).
Usage and origin
From 史记·吕不韦列传: the merchant 吕不韦, trading in 邯郸, met 子楚 (异人), a Qin prince held hostage in Zhao, and saw him as rare goods worth holding on to; he backed him, and the prince became king of Qin. Now said of hoarders and speculators, or of anyone who thinks a scarce skill lets them name their price: 自以为奇货可居.
Learn this in Lesson 139 · HSK 7–9: 茅台 (Moutai)
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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