📖 Meaning
A close friend made during times of poverty and low social status. It refers to genuine friendships formed in hardship, before one achieved wealth or success. Such friends are considered the most loyal and trustworthy.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom is a variant of the more common phrase 贫贱之交 (pín jiàn zhī jiāo), which conveys the same meaning. The concept reflects a deeply rooted Chinese cultural value: that friendships forged in adversity are the most precious and should never be forgotten after one rises to prominence. The classical admonition 贫贱之交不可忘, 不可忘 appears in the Book of Later Han (《后汉书》) in the biography of Song Hong (宋弘), who refused to divorce his wife to marry a princess, declaring he would not abandon the friend of his poverty.
💡 Example Usage
他富贵后仍不忘贫贱之知，常与旧友往来。
After becoming wealthy, he never forgot his old friends from humble days and kept in close touch with them.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 贫贱之知
- Pinyin: pín jiàn zhī zhī
- Literal Translation: poor, lowly, 's, friend
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4