penniless; without a penny
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesidiom
to be penniless; to be completely without money
formalLiterally 'not to possess even one cash coin (wen)'. Used as a predicate to describe absolute destitution. The character '名' here means 'to possess' (占有).
Tā他
pò破
chǎn产
zhī之
hòu后
yī一
wén文
bù不
míng名
。
He was left penniless after going bankrupt.
Nà那
shí时
wǒ我
yī一
wén文
bù不
míng名
，
lián连
fáng房
zū租
dōu都
fù付
bù不
qǐ起
。
At that time I didn't have a penny to my name and couldn't even pay the rent.
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Zhè这
gè个
céng曾
jīng经
yāo腰
chán缠
wàn万
guàn贯
de的
shāng商
rén人
rú如
jīn今
yī一
wén文
bù不
míng名
。
This once wealthy merchant is now completely destitute.