三教九流
sān jiào jiǔ liú
people of every sort; all walks of life (often the shady sort)
Character by character
三sān
three
three
教jiào
teachings
teachings
九jiǔ
nine
nine
流liú
schools
schools
Example
火车站附近的小饭馆里，三教九流的人都有。
In the little eateries round the station you get every sort of person.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
三教 are Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism; 九流 the nine schools of thought listed in the 《汉书》. Today it means a motley crowd, usually with a hint of disdain: 三教九流，什么人都有.
Learn this in Lesson 221 · HSK 9+: 老舍的《茶馆》 (Lao She’s Teahouse and the Beijing voice)
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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