點石成金
简 点石成金 · 繁 點石成金Meanings
- to touch base matter and turn it to gold (idiom); fig. to turn crude writing into a literary gem
Characters in this entry
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
3–2–2–1 · dian3 shi2 cheng2 jin1
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
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.
點石成金 · find source passages ↗ · 点石成金 · find source passages ↗
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
dim2 sek6 sing4 gam1
Cantonese word readings for 點石成金. 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
- (Taoism) to touch a stone to transform it into gold
- (figurative) to edit a crude piece of writing into an amazing literary work
- (figurative) to turn something crude or ordinary into something valuable
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack