Catch Phrase | 六个钱包(liùge qiánbāo)

Writer: Debra Li  |  Editor: Stephanie Yang  |  From: Shenzhen Daily  |  Updated: 2021-06-10

Meaning:

“六个” means “six,” and “钱包” means “wallets.” Six wallets refer to the wallets of a young couple’s parents and grandparents, that is, the savings of a young couple’s whole family. As most of today’s young married people in Chinese cities have grown up as the family’s only child, they can have the financial support of their parents as well as their maternal and paternal grandparents. The term “six wallets” was coined in 2018 by economist Fan Gang, a Peking University professor, in his discussion on the CCTV program “Lecture Room.” He said at the time that if they could afford a down payment with the support from their families, young couples had better buy apartments on installment schemes.

Example:

A: 小李刚结婚一年就买房了。

Xiǎolǐ gāng jiéhūn yīnián jiù mǎifáng le。

Xiao Li has bought an apartment only a year after getting married.

B: 他运气好,有六个钱包的支持。

Tā yùnqì hǎo,yǒu liùge qiánbāo de zhīchí。

He’s lucky and has the financial support from his and his wife’s parents and grandparents.