三六九等

sānliùjiǔděng

idiom

Meanings

1 different classes and ranks
2 all sorts of grades and tiers
3 a hierarchy with many levels

Characters

Examples

人是分三六九等的吗？我不这么认为。

Rén shì fēn sānliùjiǔděng de ma? Wǒ bù zhème rènwéi.

Are people divided into higher and lower ranks? I don't think so.

同样是员工，在公司里也分三六九等。

Tóngyàng shì yuángōng, zài gōngsī lǐ yě fēn sānliùjiǔděng.

Even among employees, there are various tiers within the company.

他总爱把朋友分三六九等，让人不舒服。

Tā zǒng ài bǎ péngyǒu fēn sānliùjiǔděng, ràng rén bù shūfu.

He likes to rank his friends by tiers, which makes people uncomfortable.

Tips

history

From Cao Xueqin's Qing novel 《红楼梦》 (chapter 75): a character scolds the young masters, "只不过这会子输了几两银子，你们就这样三六九等儿的了" — just because they lost a few taels of silver at gambling, they now divide everyone into grades. The numbers 3-6-9 evoke "many uneven ranks."

usage

Almost always with 分 (divide) in front: 分三六九等. Often carries a critical tone — the speaker disapproves of such ranking. Related nouns: 等级, 阶层.

Stroke Order

三 sān

六 liù

九 jiǔ

等 děng