肥水不流外人田

féi​shuǐ​bù​liú​wài​rén​tián

keep the goodies within the family

Literally "don't let one's own fertile water flow into others' fields"; this proverb means to keep benefits, wealth, or advantages within one's own circle or family rather than sharing them with outsiders.

肥水 (literal) → 肥水 · féi​shuǐ · extra benefits 不 (literal) → 不 · bù · not 流 (literal) → 流 · liú · to flow 外人 (literal) → 外人 · wài​rén · outsider 田 (literal) → 田 · tián · field

Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

created sense May 20, 2026, 07:57 PM