白手起家 bái shǒu qǐ jiā

to start from scratch; to build up from nothing

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency 17034th word

Definitions

  1. 1. to start from scratch
  2. 2. to build up from nothing

Characters

Character Meaning
白 bái HSK 2
white; bright; pure
手 shǒu HSK 2
hand; personal(ly); person engaged in certain types of work
起 qǐ HSK 1
to get up; to rise; to start
家 jiā HSK 1
home; family; classifier for families or businesses