DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

一擲千金

简一掷千金 · 繁一擲千金

Mandarin · pinyin yī zhì qiān jīn

lit. stake a thousand pieces of gold on one throw (idiom); to throw away money recklessly
extravagant

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

一: yī · one; a, an; alone
擲: Look up this written character
千: qiān · thousand; many, numerous; very; (Cant.) a cheater, swindler
金: jīn · gold; metals in general; money; Kangxi radical 167
掷: zhì · throw, hurl, cast, fling

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–4–1–1 · yi1 zhi4 qian1 jin1

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

一擲千金 · find source passages ↗ · 一掷千金 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jat1 zaak6 cin1 gam1

Cantonese word readings for 一擲千金. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(idiomatic) to spend money like water; to be extravagant

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack