📖 Meaning
A contemptuous phrase meaning something is utterly worthless, not worth even a single coin. It is used to belittle someone's abilities or character, expressing that they have no value whatsoever.
📜 Origin Story
From Sima Qian's 'Records of the Grand Historian' (史记), in the biography of Wei Qi and Wu'an Hou (魏其武安侯列传). Dou Ying, unable to vent his anger, lashed out at Linru Hou, reproaching him for having spent his whole life disparaging the general Cheng Bushi as 'not worth a single coin.' Yet when an elder offered a toast at the banquet, Linru Hou merely whispered timidly like a frightened child. The phrase originally mocked Cheng Bushi as being completely worthless. Over time it evolved into a general expression of contempt for anyone deemed incompetent or of base character.
💡 Example Usage
像他这样反复无常的小人，不直一钱。
A fickle scoundrel like him is not worth a single coin.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 不直一钱
- Pinyin: bù zhí yī qián
- Literal Translation: not, worth, one, coin
- Category: Quality
- Characters: 4