一贫如洗

一貧如洗

yīpín-rúxǐ

idiom #23,627

Meanings

1 penniless
2 dirt poor
3 as poor as a church mouse
4 utterly destitute

Characters

one / utter / complete

to wash / washed clean

Examples

HSK 4

他创业失败后，一贫如洗。

Tā chuàngyè shībài hòu, yīpín-rúxǐ.

After his business failed, he was left completely penniless.

HSK 4

战争结束后，这个家庭一贫如洗。

Zhànzhēng jiéshù hòu, zhège jiātíng yīpín-rúxǐ.

After the war ended, the family was utterly destitute.

Tips

memory

一贫如洗 means 'poverty like (having been) washed clean' - imagine everything of value having been rinsed away. Nothing is left, just as water washes away all traces. 洗 = to wash; the image is of a person stripped bare by poverty.

Stroke Order

一 yī

贫 pín

如 rú

洗 xǐ