漂母飧

piāomǔsūn
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 an act of kindness given to someone in need
  2. 2 the washerwoman's meal

Examples

HSK 5
Tā shǐzhōng jìde dāngnián nà dùn piāomǔsūn.
He never forgot that act of kindness from years ago.
HSK 7-9
Dīshuǐ zhī ēn, dāng yǒng quán xiāng bào, hékuàng piāomǔsūn ne?
A drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring - how much more so a washerwoman's meal?

Tips

history
When the young 韩信 was starving by the river, a washerwoman (漂母) shared her meal with him. He later became a Han dynasty general and repaid her with a thousand taels of gold. The phrase stands for kindness shown to someone down on their luck.

Stroke Order

piāo
sūn