一穷二白

一窮二白

yìqióng-èrbái

idiom #44,556

Meanings

HSK 5

新中国成立之初，国家一穷二白。

Xīn Zhōngguó chénglì zhī chū, guójiā yìqióng'èrbái.

When the new China was first founded, the country was poor and starting from a blank slate.

HSK 5

他白手起家，从一穷二白发展到今天的规模。

Tā báishǒuqǐjiā, cóng yìqióng'èrbái fāzhǎn dào jīntiān de guīmó.

He built his business from scratch, growing from nothing to today's scale.

usage

穷 = no industry/material wealth; 白 = blank, no education or science. The 二 forces an apostrophe in pinyin: yīqióng'èrbái.

一 yī

穷 qióng

二 èr

白 bái