唯利是图

Pronunciation: wéi lì shì tú Literal meaning: Only profit is sought

Origin & Usage

The Zuo Zhuan gives the phrase as 唯利是视, only profit is looked to, and it is Qin's own oath quoted back at it: Chu reported to Jin that Qin had sworn that whatever it did with Jin it would look only to advantage, and Jin's envoy Lü Xiang read the oath out in the formal denunciation that broke the alliance. The grammar repays attention: 唯…是… is a classical construction that pulls the object in front of the verb for emphasis, so the literal shape is only (唯) profit (利) is what is sought (图), with 是 a grammatical marker rather than the verb to be. It is a hard-edged accusation in modern Chinese, standard in criticism of companies and of people who have priced a friendship.

Examples

English: "In business, he is known for his ruthless pursuit of profit above all else."

Chinese: 在商业上，他以唯利是图而闻名，毫不顾及道德。