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銅臭味

简铜臭味 · 繁銅臭味

Mandarin · pinyin tóng xiù wèi

profit-before-all-else mindset
money-grubbing

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Characters in this entry

銅: Look up this written character
臭: chòu · smell, stink, emit foul odor
味: wèi · taste, smell, odor; delicacy
铜: tóng · copper, brass, bronze

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4–4 · tong2 xiu4 wei4

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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.

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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.

noun

the "stench of copper" (i.e., stench of money); used in derogatory phrases to describe people who seem to be greedy for money

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

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