一掷千金
yī zhì qiān jīn
to spend money like water; to blow a fortune
Character by character
一yī
one
one
掷zhì
throw
throw
千qiān
thousand
thousand
金jīn
gold
gold
Example
他在赌场里一掷千金，结果欠了一屁股债。
He threw money around at the casino and ended up deep in debt.
Tone: negative (criticism).
Usage and origin
Originally a gambler staking a fortune on one throw of the dice (Tang poet 吴象之, 少年行: 一掷千金浑是胆); now any lavish spending, usually with a note of disapproval. Compare 孤注一掷 (lesson 3-7), staking everything on one throw.
Learn this in Lesson 59 · HSK 6: 宠物经济 (The pet economy)
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.
Open the lesson →