穷光蛋 (qióngguāngdàn): poor wretch

Measure Word

一个穷光蛋 gè

Meanings

1 poor wretch
2 pauper
3 penniless person

Characters

Examples

他赌博赌成了穷光蛋。

Tā dǔbó dǔ chéng le qióngguāngdàn.

He gambled himself into a pauper.

别看他现在有钱，以前就是个穷光蛋。

Biékàn tā xiànzài yǒuqián, yǐqián jiùshì gè qióngguāngdàn.

Don't be fooled by his wealth now — he used to be a penniless nobody.

Tips

memory

穷 (poor) + 光 (bare/empty) + 蛋 (egg) — picture a person so poor they're like a bare egg with nothing on it. 光蛋 = stripped bare.

register

Colloquial and mildly derogatory. Used in casual speech to describe someone with no money.

Stroke Order

穷 qióng

光 guāng

蛋 dàn

Related Words

穷人 qióngrén HSK 4 #5,817

poor people / the poor

穷 qióng HSK 4 #4,502

poor / destitute / exhausted (of resources)

贫穷 pínqióng HSK 7-9 #7,760

poor; impoverished; poverty-stricken

光头 guāngtóu #9,002

bald head; shaved head / bald person

人穷志不穷 rénqióngzhìbùqióng

poor in pocket but not in spirit / though destitute, still of noble aspiration / (lit.) the person is poor, the will is not poor

蛋蛋 dàndàn #5,011

balls (slang) / testicles (colloquial) / nickname for a child

光荣 guāngróng HSK 5 #5,023

glorious / honorable / honor and glory

发光 fāguāng HSK 7-9 #5,128

to emit light; to shine; to glow

光明 guāngmíng HSK 3 #4,099

bright / light / promising

灯光 dēngguāng HSK 4 #3,729

lamplight; light (from a lamp) / stage lighting