<p>Here is the summary of google hits on each term, including both Simplified and Traditional Chinese. Blue is for 发大财, and red is for 大发财:</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/4Jv6T.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/4Jv6T.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>So apparently 闷声发大财 is more ubiquitous, both in Simp. and Trad. Chinese.</p>
<p>But it is not a problem of correctness. Nothing is grammatically wrong in either form. There might be something slightly off for 大发财 because it doesn't conform to similar phrases like 吃大亏, 撞大运, etc., but it's not that important. The thing is, even if 大发财 was indeed the original form, 发大财 has already become an internet meme, and there is no way to stop that.</p>
<p>After careful listening, I think there is not doubt that the Chairman did say 闷声大发财. The pronunciation of 发 is hard to dismiss if you know how 入声 works.</p>
<p>However, there are like 1 billion native 官话(Mandarin in the broader sense) speakers who can't distinguish 入声. Also <code>verb + 大 + object</code> has always been a prevalent form. These could be why the 闷声发大财 version gained it's popularity.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-05T13:45:41.007Z
But on 翡翠台 the subtitle wrote 闷声大发财. Actually, you could hear both while the sound quality was very low.
skygate
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-08T11:27:45.810Z
@TangHo or, at least, rewritten to make it less stupid. Right?
Wang Dingwei
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-08T12:30:28.463Z
It is not about smart or stupid. It is about misinformed. Sometimes languages change -  by popular opinion. I still don't like 質素 (quality) became 素質 in Mainland China, but it is useless to argue with one billion people. I still insist it is 質素, not  素質.
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-14T02:14:08.183Z
This is a very useful tool. How did you get the hits statistics?
River
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-12T18:07:00.207Z
@TangHo It may be true for “[大發財](https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=gb&chapter=548001)” or “道地” (changed into “發大財” or “地道”); not for “素質”, since this word can be found texts from pre-Qin period such as [爾雅](https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=gb&file=72832&page=64#%E7%B4%A0%E8%B3%AA) or [文選](https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=gb&file=69662&page=80#%E7%B4%A0%E8%B3%AA).  It is pointless to make general statements about these two orders since the grammar of classical Chinese was very flexible.
Lei Zhao
CC BY-SA 4.0
2016-10-05T13:11:42.873Z
2020-10-11T00:22:34.957Z
2020-10-11T00:22:34.957Z
Wang Dingwei
<p>The original phrase should be 「悶聲大發財」, I read it in the most famous martial art novel 『鹿鼎記』</p>
<blockquote>
<p>鹿鼎記</p>
<p>第二十八回　未免情多絲宛轉　為誰辛苦竅玲瓏</p>
<p>韋小寶道：「多謝皇上記掛，又派了御前侍衛來找尋奴才。那惡尼姑起初十分生氣，向我拳打腳踢，後來我說皇上是鳥生魚湯，是大大的好皇帝，殺不得的。她卻說很多大逆不道的話。我讚你一句，她就打我一記耳光。後來我不肯吃眼前虧，只好<strong>悶聲大發財</strong>了。」</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In Chinese myth, there are two Hell officers 黑無常 and 白無常，people refer the pair as 黑白無常 or 無常鬼，they wear tall hats and the phrase 「一見發財」is written on the white one's hat.  Since 無常鬼 do not speak, 「悶聲大發財 」actually has double meaning of &quot; stay silent and get rich&quot;  and &quot; silent like a ghost&quot;</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%BB%91%E7%99%BD%E7%84%A1%E5%B8%B8" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%BB%91%E7%99%BD%E7%84%A1%E5%B8%B8</a></p>
<p><em>謝將軍：臉為白色並穿白色長袍，穿戴長筒官帽，上有「一見發財」或「一見生財」、「一見大吉」字句</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>The reason for so many Google results for 悶聲發大財 was because 江澤民 said it that way on T.V. Consider 「質素」( quality) is written as 「素質」in Mainland China, it seems like they have a habit of phrasing things differently from the traditional Chinese.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-05T18:19:14.270Z
2016-10-05T18:27:15.913Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
Tang Ho
<p>发大财means make a lot of money. You can say 大here means a lot. Usually we don't use 大发财，because 大 is usually an adj.  to describe the noun. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-19T03:29:10.320Z
2017-08-19T03:29:10.320Z
Joy Jo
<p>中国有句古话，叫闷声大发财，什么都不说就是坠吼的，懂了没啊!</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-05T08:46:47.067Z
似董非董，不民白你泽个江得是什么意思。
skygate
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-05T10:00:50.503Z
@skygate 惊现膜法师！
Toosky Hierot
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-05T07:30:07.550Z
2018-12-05T07:30:07.550Z
user20925
<p>Syntactically, both 闷声发大财 and 闷声大发财 make sense. However, the meaning is slightly different: 闷声发大财 translates as <code>make mass amount of money while staying low-key</code>, whereas 闷声大发财 translates as &quot;if you stay low-key, then you can make mass amount of money&quot; (although you can translate it in the same way as the first type does, and I think we have a leader called Zemin Jiang that demonstrates the nuance very well in one of his talk with a journalist years ago).</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-20T20:03:22.643Z
2022-09-20T20:03:22.643Z
Qiyu Zhong
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/RIQ6X.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/RIQ6X.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>Since 江泽民 said 闷声发大财 on TV, it is more popular in Chinese</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-25T23:15:54.487Z
2016-10-25T23:15:54.487Z
Takanashi
<blockquote>
<p>闷声发大财</p>
<p>闷声大发财</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Both are widely used among the Chinese people, which one is the correct one?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-05T13:19:06.740Z
bkrs has an entry for   发大财 сильно разбогатеть make a killing  but for   大发财 it says такого слова нет, добавить such a word does not exist, add, entering 大发财 into jukuu yields 6 examples none of which however has the unbroken sequence 大发财, entering 发大财 yields 33 examples all of which have this unbroken sequence, users can draw their own conclusions as to which is more common if not solely accurate
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-05T17:38:15.160Z
made up of an adverbial 闷声/in silence and  predicate 发大财 (离合词: 发财 with attributively used adjective 大 in between) respectively 大 functioning as adverb, thus 闷声 and 发大财/大发财 can be used independently,
therefore it may be a question of which of 发大财,大发财 is correct (see comment #1)
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-05T20:19:30.543Z
当然 ＂大发财＂ 听起来对多个用户来说好像也是正确的，请见＂汉语８００虚词用法词典＂大［副］表示程度深。主要用法有：１。大＋动词／形容词（１）对外汉语教学事业是一项大有前途的事业。２。你要想大有作为，现在就应该好好儿学习，努力掌握一门专业知识。３。婚礼我不想大办，就请几个朋友聚聚就行了。４。听说奶奶去世了，我大哭了一场了。５。他女朋友要来，他今天一大早就去机场了。６。今年中国北方大旱，南方有大涝。７。今早睡过头儿了，起来时，天一经大亮了。
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-05T23:54:19.467Z
note jukuu's examples with 大发:
大发脾气（most often)／牢骚(2nd most)／宏论／议论／善心／利市／怜悯／其怒／（对远方家乡的）幽思／雷庭／伟论/一通火
and with fronted object:   横财大发，利市大发，兽性大发，醋意大发 and 发财 with attributive／定语：
大发战争财，大发不义之财，大发其财
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-06T16:41:23.250Z
Both are okay. You could even use 大财闷声发, 发闷声大财, 声闷财大发 though rarely seen. It can vary according to rhythm, antithesis or context.
ElpieKay
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-18T06:42:47.823Z
闷声发大财 or 大发闷声财(rarely, but correct symantec), but emphasize different part,   money or easily (大发). 闷声发大财 is more simple and popular, 大发闷声财 implies negative assessment.
Daniel Yang
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-11T08:19:40.053Z
Although both are correct, 發大財is better. One can 發大財,發小財,發橫財,發奇財 but one cannot 橫發財,奇發財. 小發財might be OK though I have never heard of it.
joehua
<vocabulary><idioms>
Should I use "闷声发大财" or "闷声大发财"？
# Should I use "闷声发大财" or "闷声大发财"？

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-10-05)

> 闷声发大财
>
> 闷声大发财

Both are widely used among the Chinese people, which one is the correct one?

**Tags:** vocabulary, idioms
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: bkrs has an entry for   发大财 сильно разбогатеть make a killing  but for   大发财 it says такого слова нет, добавить such a word does not exist, add, entering 大发财 into jukuu yields 6 examples none of which however has the unbroken sequence 大发财, entering 发大财 yields 33 examples all of which have this unbroken sequence, users can draw their own conclusions as to which is more common if not solely accurate  
> **username_1**: made up of an adverbial 闷声/in silence and  predicate 发大财 (离合词: 发财 with attributively used adjective 大 in between) respectively 大 functioning as adverb, thus 闷声 and 发大财/大发财 can be used independently, therefore it may be a question of which of 发大财,大发财 is correct (see comment #1)  
> **username_1**: 当然 ＂大发财＂ 听起来对多个用户来说好像也是正确的，请见＂汉语８００虚词用法词典＂大［副］表示程度深。主要用法有：１。大＋动词／形容词（１）对外汉语教学事业是一项大有前途的事业。２。你要想大有作为，现在就应该好好儿学习，努力掌握一门专业知识。３。婚礼我不想大办，就请几个朋友聚聚就行了。４。听说奶奶去世了，我大哭了一场了。５。他女朋友要来，他今天一大早就去机场了。６。今年中国北方大旱，南方有大涝。７。今早睡过头儿了，起来时，天一经大亮了。  
> **username_1**: note jukuu's examples with 大发: 大发脾气（most often)／牢骚(2nd most)／宏论／议论／善心／利市／怜悯／其怒／（对远方家乡的）幽思／雷庭／伟论/一通火 and with fronted object:   横财大发，利市大发，兽性大发，醋意大发 and 发财 with attributive／定语： 大发战争财，大发不义之财，大发其财  
> **username_2**: Both are okay. You could even use 大财闷声发, 发闷声大财, 声闷财大发 though rarely seen. It can vary according to rhythm, antithesis or context.  
> **username_3**: 闷声发大财 or 大发闷声财(rarely, but correct symantec), but emphasize different part,   money or easily (大发). 闷声发大财 is more simple and popular, 大发闷声财 implies negative assessment.  
> **username_4**: Although both are correct, 發大財is better. One can 發大財,發小財,發橫財,發奇財 but one cannot 橫發財,奇發財. 小發財might be OK though I have never heard of it.  

---

## 6 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2016-10-05. Score: 8

Here is the summary of google hits on each term, including both Simplified and Traditional Chinese. Blue is for 发大财, and red is for 大发财:

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/4Jv6T.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/4Jv6T.png)

So apparently 闷声发大财 is more ubiquitous, both in Simp. and Trad. Chinese.

But it is not a problem of correctness. Nothing is grammatically wrong in either form. There might be something slightly off for 大发财 because it doesn't conform to similar phrases like 吃大亏, 撞大运, etc., but it's not that important. The thing is, even if 大发财 was indeed the original form, 发大财 has already become an internet meme, and there is no way to stop that.

After careful listening, I think there is not doubt that the Chairman did say 闷声大发财. The pronunciation of 发 is hard to dismiss if you know how 入声 works.

However, there are like 1 billion native 官话(Mandarin in the broader sense) speakers who can't distinguish 入声. Also `verb + 大 + object` has always been a prevalent form. These could be why the 闷声发大财 version gained it's popularity.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: But on 翡翠台 the subtitle wrote 闷声大发财. Actually, you could hear both while the sound quality was very low.  
> **username_5**: @TangHo or, at least, rewritten to make it less stupid. Right?  
> **username_6**: It is not about smart or stupid. It is about misinformed. Sometimes languages change -  by popular opinion. I still don't like 質素 (quality) became 素質 in Mainland China, but it is useless to argue with one billion people. I still insist it is 質素, not  素質.  
> **username_7**: This is a very useful tool. How did you get the hits statistics?  
> **username_8**: @TangHo It may be true for “[大發財](https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=gb&chapter=548001)” or “道地” (changed into “發大財” or “地道”); not for “素質”, since this word can be found texts from pre-Qin period such as [爾雅](https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=gb&file=72832&page=64#%E7%B4%A0%E8%B3%AA) or [文選](https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=gb&file=69662&page=80#%E7%B4%A0%E8%B3%AA).  It is pointless to make general statements about these two orders since the grammar of classical Chinese was very flexible.  

---

### Answer by username_6 on 2016-10-05. Score: 4

The original phrase should be 「悶聲大發財」, I read it in the most famous martial art novel 『鹿鼎記』

> 鹿鼎記
>
> 第二十八回　未免情多絲宛轉　為誰辛苦竅玲瓏
>
> 韋小寶道：「多謝皇上記掛，又派了御前侍衛來找尋奴才。那惡尼姑起初十分生氣，向我拳打腳踢，後來我說皇上是鳥生魚湯，是大大的好皇帝，殺不得的。她卻說很多大逆不道的話。我讚你一句，她就打我一記耳光。後來我不肯吃眼前虧，只好**悶聲大發財**了。」

In Chinese myth, there are two Hell officers 黑無常 and 白無常，people refer the pair as 黑白無常 or 無常鬼，they wear tall hats and the phrase 「一見發財」is written on the white one's hat. Since 無常鬼 do not speak, 「悶聲大發財 」actually has double meaning of " stay silent and get rich" and " silent like a ghost"

> <https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%BB%91%E7%99%BD%E7%84%A1%E5%B8%B8>
>
> *謝將軍：臉為白色並穿白色長袍，穿戴長筒官帽，上有「一見發財」或「一見生財」、「一見大吉」字句*

The reason for so many Google results for 悶聲發大財 was because 江澤民 said it that way on T.V. Consider 「質素」( quality) is written as 「素質」in Mainland China, it seems like they have a habit of phrasing things differently from the traditional Chinese.


---

### Answer by username_9 on 2017-08-19. Score: 2

发大财means make a lot of money. You can say 大here means a lot. Usually we don't use 大发财，because 大 is usually an adj. to describe the noun.


---

### Answer by username_10 on 2018-12-05. Score: 2

中国有句古话，叫闷声大发财，什么都不说就是坠吼的，懂了没啊!

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: 似董非董，不民白你泽个江得是什么意思。  
> **username_11**: @skygate 惊现膜法师！  

---

### Answer by username_12 on 2022-09-20. Score: 0

Syntactically, both 闷声发大财 and 闷声大发财 make sense. However, the meaning is slightly different: 闷声发大财 translates as `make mass amount of money while staying low-key`, whereas 闷声大发财 translates as "if you stay low-key, then you can make mass amount of money" (although you can translate it in the same way as the first type does, and I think we have a leader called Zemin Jiang that demonstrates the nuance very well in one of his talk with a journalist years ago).


---

### Answer by username_13 on 2016-10-25. Score: 0

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/RIQ6X.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/RIQ6X.jpg)

Since 江泽民 said 闷声发大财 on TV, it is more popular in Chinese


---

