一诺千金

一諾千金

yīnuòqiānjīn

idiom #40,582

Meanings

1 a single promise worth a thousand pieces of gold
2 a promise that can always be counted on
3 true to one's word

Characters

promise, a 'yes'

Examples

他向来一诺千金，答应的事一定做到。

Tā xiànglái yīnuòqiānjīn, dāying de shì yídìng zuòdào.

He has always been true to his word — whatever he promises, he delivers.

做生意讲究信誉，一诺千金。

Zuò shēngyi jiǎngjiu xìnyù, yīnuòqiānjīn.

In business, reputation is everything — a promise must be kept.

她一诺千金的性格，让朋友们都很信任她。

Tā yīnuòqiānjīn de xìnggé, ràng péngyou men dōu hěn xìnrèn tā.

Her reputation for always keeping her word makes her friends trust her deeply.

Tips

history

From the Shi Ji biography of Ji Bu (《史记·季布栾布列传》). A Chu saying ran: 得黄金百斤，不如得季布一诺 — 'getting a hundred catties of gold is not as good as getting one promise from Ji Bu.' The idiom is the concentrated praise of that absolute reliability.

register

Strong praise. Use for people with a genuine track record of keeping their word, or as a standard to aspire to in commercial or personal ethics.

Stroke Order

一 yī

诺 nuò

千 qiān

金 jīn