三六九等

sānliù-jiǔděng

idiom

Meanings

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

Characters

Examples

HSK 3

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.

HSK 3

他总爱把朋友分三六九等，让人不舒服。

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

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

HSK 5

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.

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