不為五斗米折腰

不为五斗米折腰
bùwèiwǔdǒumǐzhéyāo

to not compromise one's integrity just to earn a small salary in a dead-end job; to not sacrifice one's ideals in order to make a living

Wiktionary

Entry Composition

1 不為 bùwéi
  1. (literary) to not do
  2. to not do
2 五 wǔ
  1. five
  2. 5
=3 斗 Dǒu abbr. for the Big Dipper constellation 北斗星 Běidǒuxīng
=3 斗 dǒu
  1. dry measure for grain equal to ten 升 shēng or one-tenth of a 石 dàn
  2. decaliter
  3. peck
  4. cup or dipper shaped object
  5. old variant of 陡 dǒu
=3 斗 dòu
  1. to fight
  2. to struggle
  3. to condemn
  4. to censure
  5. to contend
  6. to put together
  7. coming together
=3 斗 dòu variant of 鬭 dòu
=3 斗 dòu variant of 鬥 dòu
=3 斗 dòu variant of 鬥 dòu
=4 米 Mǐ surname Mi
=4 米 mǐ
  1. uncooked rice
  2. meter (unit of length)
  3. (slang) Chinese yuan
5 折腰 zhéyāo
  1. to bend at the waist; to bow
  2. (fig.) to bow to; to submit