小财不去，大财不来

6dousha

Hi, I'm a Chinese. What you say is not exactly right. In fact this is not a typical Chinese saying. But there is a similar one (much famous and is used more frequently): 旧的不去，新的不来, whice means new one comes only after old one goes. But pay attention! It is a saying to comfort people who lost something he owned, it means that one will not always be unlucky. So, as far as I am concerned, 小财不去，大财不来 is another way to comfort a person who has lost some money by telling him that a larger fortune is coming. I think it doesn't mean that the larger fortune must come out of the spending of some money.

tingyun

Well, we both agree its not an established expression. But despite a bit of reluctance to argue for my intuition over that of a native speaker, a quick google search seems to confirm my interpretation. Take a look at the below examples and see if you agree. (Note: I obviously agree on the meaning of 旧的不去，新的不来, I just don't agree that the tone of use matches up exactly. Even if it is punning off that expression, the meanings aren't necessarily exactly the same - just look at 逃之夭夭 and its origin in the 诗经 line 桃之夭夭 ;) )

from http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_4b99a0db0100ku8e.html

花钱是挣钱的本钱

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她爸爸妈妈跟朋友说，李念跟钱有仇，存不住钱，有钱就花出去。李念接着告诉他们，“小财不去，大财不来。”她的每一笔花销都是对自己的投资，“因为现在自己还年轻，需要学的，需要感受的都会是将来的财富——挣钱的本钱。”

Then there's the slight variation - 小财不出，大财不入

http://hi.baidu.com/yurui200/blog/item/f26672a998b79f044b36d699.html

赚钱格言：小财不出，大财不入

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对于任何一个想要创业的人来说，任何项目都需要投资，天下没有免费的午餐。

Both seem exactly as I said - advising one of the necessity to invest some money in order to make a larger amount.

Though honestly that not to say I disagree that someone could say this in the other use that you mention - its not an established expression; the field is wide open to use it as one likes. And it certainly seems a fine way to comfort a friend who has lost money on a risk - though there I think it feels more like a derived meaning from the one I mention - ie you are comforting him through this expression in that it points out that risking some money is a necessary part of making a larger fortune, and thus his risk was justified and the loss should be viewed in a more positive light. In that sense, I'm not sure if it differs much from 旧的不去，新的不来 - its entirely possible that expression also originates in a recognition of a certain necessity, and simply acquires a strong association with comforting from repeated use in that light. Not saying that necessarily is the origin of that saying, but its possible - just saying that no such development seems to have taken place with the phrase we are discussing here (nor does it seem likely to occur - in today's investing and making money culture, I doubt a comforting use has any chance to overwhelm the maxim use). ;)