Skip to content
wéi 唯 lì 利 shì 是 tú 图

唯利是图 wéi lì shì tú

bent solely on profit; mercenary

Literally: only profit is seek

Advanced 💼 Work & money
🃏 Practise advanced chengyu

Tap a character above to see its stroke order and the words it appears in.

Origin

From the Zuozhuan (Duke Cheng, 13th year): 余虽与晋出入,余唯利是视 — the form 唯利是图 became fixed in later texts.

How to use it

Predicate or attributive; strongly negative. Often 唯利是图的商人.

Example sentences

Show:

Tap any word for its meaning and pinyin. The chengyu is highlighted.

  1. 这家企业唯利是图，为了降低成本竟然使用有毒原料。
    Zhè jiā qǐyè wéi lì shì tú, wèile jiàngdī chéngběn jìngrán shǐyòng yǒudú yuánliào.
    This company is bent solely on profit; to cut costs it actually used toxic raw materials.
    this (measure) enterprise only profit is seek, in order to reduce cost unexpectedly use poisonous raw material
  2. 医生如果唯利是图，就辜负了病人的信任。
    Yīshēng rúguǒ wéi lì shì tú, jiù gūfù le bìngrén de xìnrèn.
    If doctors think only of profit, they betray their patients' trust.
    doctor if only profit is seek, then fail (aspect particle) patient (attributive particle) trust

More chengyu about work & money

All work & money chengyu →