发财

發財
fācái
verb HSK 7 #7,336

Meanings

  1. 1 to get rich; to make a fortune

Characters

Literally 'to generate wealth.'

Examples

Gōngxǐ fācái!
Congratulations and may you prosper!
Tā zuò shēngyi fā le dà cái.
He made a fortune doing business.
Bié zuò fācái mèng le, tàshi gōngzuò ba.
Stop dreaming of getting rich and just work steadily.

Tips

culture
恭喜发财 (Gōngxǐ fācái) is THE Chinese New Year greeting — you'll hear it billions of times every Spring Festival. The full version is often followed by 红包 (hóngbāo nálái, 'hand over the red envelope!'), a playful demand for money.
culture
In mahjong, (fā) is the green 'fortune' tile, short for 发财. It's one of the three 'dragon' tiles and is considered lucky.

Stroke Order

cái