民脂民膏 mín zhī mín gāo

the people’s hard-earned wealth

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency 85777th word

Definitions

  1. 1. lit. the fat and wealth of the people (idiom); the nation's hard-won wealth (esp. as an object of unscrupulous exploitation)
  2. 2. the people's blood, sweat and tears

Characters

Character Meaning
the people; citizen; nationality
fat; resin; rouge (cosmetics)
the people; citizen; nationality
ointment; paste; to apply (cream, ointment)