笑贫不笑娼 in English xiao4 pin2 bu4 xiao4 chang1 Meaning

Meanings

  • the notion in society that it's better to get ahead in the world by abandoning one's scruples than to suffer poverty
  • literally (word for word) despising poverty but not prostitution (idiomatic expression)

Simplified Characters

笑 贫 不 笑 娼

Traditional Characters

笑 貧 不 笑 娼

Pinyin

xiao4 pin2 bu4 xiao4 chang1

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

笑xiao4old variant of 笑[xiao4] 贫pin2poor 不bu4(negative prefix) 笑xiao4old variant of 笑[xiao4] 娼chang1prostitute