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有錢能使鬼推磨

简有钱能使鬼推磨 · 繁有錢能使鬼推磨

Mandarin · pinyin yǒu qián néng shǐ guǐ tuī mò

lit. with money, you can get a devil to turn a millstone (idiom)
fig. with money, you can get anything done; money talks

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Characters in this entry

有: yǒu · have, own, possess; exist
錢: Look up this written character
能: néng · to be able; can, permitted to; ability
使: shǐ · cause, send on a mission, order; envoy, messenger, ambassador
鬼: guǐ · ghost; spirit of dead; devil; Kangxi radical 194; 23rd lunar mansion, determinative star θ Cancri
推: tuī · push, expel; push forward
磨: mó · grind; polish; rub; wear out; a millstone
钱: qián · money, currency, coins

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

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Mandarin tones

3–2–2–3–3–1–4 · you3 qian2 neng2 shi3 gui3 tui1 mo4

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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.

有錢能使鬼推磨 · find source passages ↗ · 有钱能使鬼推磨 · find source passages ↗

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

proverb

money makes the world go around; money talks

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

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