见钱眼开 Jiàn qián yǎn kāi Eyes light up at the sight of money

Explanation

形容人贪财，看到钱财眼睛就睁大了。

Describes someone who is very greedy for money; his eyes widen when he sees money.

Origin Story

话说从前，有个财主，家财万贯，却异常吝啬。一天，他听说邻村有人卖祖传玉佩，价值连城。财主一听，立刻眼睛放光，不顾一切地赶了过去。到了卖家家门口，财主还没进门，就迫不及待地从怀里掏出金子，不等对方开口，就大声说："这玉佩我要了！多少钱？"卖家见他如此急切，报了个高价。财主一听，眉头都没皱一下，立马掏钱买下玉佩。拿到玉佩后，财主喜不自禁，爱不释手，整日里看着玉佩傻笑，仿佛得到了世界上最珍贵的宝物。财主如此见钱眼开的样子，让周围的人都笑话他，说他是个十足的守财奴。

huà shuō cóng qián, yǒu ge cáizhǔ, jiā cái wàn guàn, què yì cháng lìnsè。yī tiān, tā tīng shuō lín cūn yǒu rén mài zǔ chuán yù pèi, jià zhí lián chéng。cáizhǔ yī tīng, lì kè yǎn jing fàng guāng, bù gù yī qiē de gǎn le guò qù。dào le màijiā jiā mén kǒu, cáizhǔ hái méi jìn mén, jiù pò bù jí dài de cóng huái lǐ tāo chū jīn zi, bù děng duì fāng kāi kǒu, jiù dà shēng shuō:"zhè yù pèi wǒ yào le! duōshao qián?" màijiā jiàn tā rúcǐ jí qiē, bào ge gāo jià。cáizhǔ yī tīng, méi tóu dōu méi zhòu yī xià, lì mà tāo qián mǎi xià yù pèi。ná dào yù pèi hòu, cáizhǔ xǐ bù zì jīn, ài bù shì shǒu, zhěng rì lǐ kànzhe yù pèi shǎ xiào, fǎng fú dé dào le shìjiè shàng zuì zhēn guì de bǎo wù。cáizhǔ rúcǐ jiàn qián yǎn kāi de yàng zi, ràng zhōuwéi de rén dōu xiào huà tā, shuō tā shì ge shí zú de shǒu cái nú。

Once upon a time, there was a wealthy landlord who was extremely stingy. One day, he heard that someone in a neighboring village was selling an ancestral jade pendant worth a fortune. Upon hearing this, the landlord's eyes immediately lit up, and he rushed over without hesitation. Before even entering the seller's house, the landlord eagerly took out his gold and said loudly before the seller could speak, "I'll take the jade pendant! How much is it?" Seeing his eagerness, the seller quoted a high price. The landlord, without even flinching, immediately paid and bought the jade pendant. After obtaining the jade pendant, the landlord was overjoyed and couldn't put it down, smiling foolishly at it all day long, as if he had acquired the world's most precious treasure.

Usage

作谓语、宾语；形容贪财。

zuò wèiyǔ, bīnyǔ; xiāo róng tāncái

Used as predicate and object; describes greed for money.

Examples

• 他见钱眼开，什么违法乱纪的事都敢做。

  tā jiàn qián yǎn kāi, shénme wéifǎ luànjì de shì dōu gǎn zuò。

  He is greedy, and dares to do anything illegal and unruly.

• 一些人见钱眼开，不择手段地敛财。

  yīxiē rén jiàn qián yǎn kāi, bùzé shǒuduàn de liǎn cái。

  Some people are greedy and use any means to accumulate wealth。

Related Idioms

• 见利忘义

• 见钱眼红

Opposite Idioms

• 克己奉公

• 廉洁奉公