taam1 zi6 dak1 go3 pan4貪字得個貧贪字得个贫
Jyutpingtaam1 zi6 dak1 go3 pan4
Yaletāam jih dāk go pàhn
Definition
Being greedy leads to loss or poverty; grasp all, lose all.
colloquialpeoplemoney
How it's used
This proverb relies on the visual similarity between the characters 貪 and 貧, where the bottom component of the former is the character 貝, while the latter is 分. It serves as a classic moral warning against excessive desire or gambling. People often use it to caution someone who is trying to take a shortcut or get something for nothing.
Examples
Don't be greedy and end up losing everything, how can getting rich through investment be that easy?
Greed leads to poverty, if you still refuse to stop now, you will really lose everything.
Related words
Common phrases
greed leads to poverty
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- LocationHow to say where something is using 喺 (hai2), place words like 度, and the common coverbs that work like English prepositions.
- Serial verbsStringing two or more verbs together without any joining word, like go to the shop buy things. Extremely common in Cantonese.
- 將 disposalHow to move the object in front of the verb with 將, to focus on what happens to it. Common in instructions and writing.
