4 characters Idiom and proverb 6 339

From basics to advanced idioms, Chinese study culminates with phrases like 「白手起家」. Explore their meaning and use in this free guide.

This introduction highlights the idiom 「白手起家」, with its meaning and examples explained below.

From scratch: with nothing; to start from scratch: to establish a family business. Describes the hard work of starting a business with no foundation and very poor conditions.

The Mandarin pronunciation of this idiom is :

bái shǒu qǐ jiā

while its Cantonese pinyin is :

baak6 sau2 hei2 ga1

Chinese idioms are vast in number, each carrying unique meanings and usages. With such variety, there’s a lot to learn and appreciate. Hopefully, these resources will aid you on your journey to mastering Chinese.