镀金

鍍金
dùjīn
verb #41,852

Meanings

  1. 1 to gold-plate; to gild
  2. 2 to gild one's credentials (with a short stint abroad or in a prestigious post)

Examples

HSK 4
Yǒuxiē rén chūguó dú yì nián shuòshì, zhǐshì wèile dùjīn.
Some people go abroad for a one-year master's degree just to gild their résumé.
HSK 7-9
Zhè kuài shǒubiǎo shì dùjīn de, bú shì chúnjīn de.
This watch is gold-plated, not solid gold.

Tips

usage
The figurative sense is mildly mocking: a thin layer of gold over an ordinary core. 出国镀金 is a short degree abroad taken for the name, and an official sent to a rural post for a year to earn promotion credit is also said to go there to 镀金.
memory
镀 'to plate, to coat with metal' also gives 镀银 'silver-plated' and 电镀 'to electroplate'.

Stroke Order

镀 dù
金 jīn