唯利是图

唯利是圖

wéilì-shìtú

idiom #30,058

Meanings

1 to be driven solely by profit
2 to put profit before everything else
3 mercenary

Characters

profit; benefit; sharp

is; this (classical emphatic)

to seek; to scheme; map

Examples

HSK 3

他唯利是图，为了钱什么事都做得出来。

Tā wéilì-shìtú, wèile qián shénme shì dōu zuò dechū lái.

He is driven purely by profit and will do anything for money.

HSK 4

一个唯利是图的商人很难赢得顾客的信任。

Yīgè wéilì-shìtú de shāngrén hěn nán yíngdé gùkè de xìnrèn.

A purely profit-driven merchant will have a hard time winning customer trust.

Tips

memory

唯 (only) + 利 (profit) + 是 (is) + 图 (to seek; to scheme) - to seek only profit. The classical 唯...是... structure means only this. Picture someone with profit-tinted glasses, seeing nothing else.

Stroke Order

唯 wéi

利 lì

是 shì

图 tú