CHENGYU
一毛不拔(yī máo bù bá)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- neutral, critical
- Source:
- 《孟子·尽心上》
MEANING
- Literal
- unwilling to pluck out a single hair
- Figurative meaning
- extremely stingy
ORIGIN STORY
Mencius described the philosopher Yang Zhu: "He would not pull out one hair to benefit the whole world." Later the phrase narrowed from a principled philosophy to plain miserliness.
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“tight-fisted”
EXAMPLES
他那么有钱，却一毛不拔。Tā nàme yǒuqián, què yī máo bù bá.HSK6
He is rich, yet will not part with a single hair.
别指望他请客，他是一毛不拔的人。Bié zhǐwang tā qǐngkè, tā shì yī máo bù bá de rén.HSK6
Do not expect him to treat you — he is a man who keeps every hair.
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: It means stingy with money or help — not "brave" (despite the hair-pulling image) or "poor".
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
Tap a character to explore it
TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01