三教九流 sān jiào jiǔ liú

fig. people from all trades (often derog.)

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency 44679th word

Definitions

  1. 1. fig. people from all trades (often derog.)
  2. 2. the Three Religions (Daoism, Confucianism, Buddhism) and Nine Schools (Confucians, Daoists, Yin-Yang, Legalists, Logicians, Mohists, Political Strategists, Eclectics, Agriculturists)

Characters

Character Meaning
三 sān HSK 1
three; 3; surname San
教 jiào HSK 2
teaching; to tell; to make
九 jiǔ HSK 1
nine; 9
流 liú HSK 4
to flow; to circulate or spread; to move or drift