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一分錢一分貨

简一分钱一分货 · 繁一分錢一分貨

Mandarin · pinyin yī fēn qián yī fēn huò

you get what you pay for

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Characters in this entry

一: yī · one; a, an; alone
分: fēn · divide; small unit of time etc.
錢: Look up this written character
貨: Look up this written character
钱: qián · money, currency, coins
货: huò · goods, commodities, products

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–1–2–1–1–4 · yi1 fen1 qian2 yi1 fen1 huo4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

一分錢一分貨 · find source passages ↗ · 一分钱一分货 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

proverb

you get what you pay for

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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