名利双收

Pronunciation: míng lì shuāng shōu Literal meaning: Fame and profit both obtained

Origin & Usage

Reputation (名) and profit (利), both (双) collected (收). The two are treated in Chinese as the standard pair of worldly rewards and as ordinarily in tension — the scholar who has one is assumed to have given up the other — so the claim in 双 is that somebody got round the trade-off. That is why the phrase is used with a trace of envy. An artist whose serious work also sold, and anybody whose success was admired and paid for at the same time.

Examples

English: "The bestselling author achieved both recognition and wealth."

Chinese: 畅销作家名利双收。