Meanings
- excessiveidiomaticuncountableSomething very valuable or priceless.
I wouldn't trade you away for all the tea in China.
1 more example
KIRK: Ha, ha, ha. Okay, the truth. I am from what, on your calendar, would be the late twenty-third century. I've come back in time to bring two humpback whales with me in an attempt to repopulate the species. GILLIAN: Well, why didn't you just say so? I mean, why all the coy disguises? KIRK: You want the details? GILLIAN: Oh! I wouldn't miss this for all the tea in China.
1986, William Shatner, Catherine Hicks, 1:07:18 from the start, in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Paramount Pictures, →OCLCSynonyms: all the gold in Fort Knox, all the money in the world
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSomething very valuable or priceless.
Origin
Because of the large amount of tea found in China, and also its value.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 千金不換 /千金不换
- 千金不換 /千金不换 (qiānjīnbùhuàn)something priceless or invaluable
Czech za nic na světě
- za nic na světěsomething priceless or invaluable
Dutch voor niks ter wereld
- voor niks ter wereldsomething priceless or invaluable
Finnish kaikki maailman rikkaudet
- kaikki maailman rikkaudetsomething priceless or invaluable
French tout l'or du monde, pour rien au monde
- tout l'or du mondesomething priceless or invaluable
- pour rien au mondesomething priceless or invaluable
German alles in der Welt, alle Reichtümer dieser Erde
- alles in der Weltsomething priceless or invaluable
- alle Reichtümer dieser Erdesomething priceless or invaluable
Greek όλο το χρυσάφι του κόσμου
- όλο το χρυσάφι του κόσμου (ólo to chrysáfi tou kósmou)something priceless or invaluable
Hungarian a világ minden kincséért
- a világ minden kincséértsomething priceless or invaluable
Italian tutto l'oro del mondo
- tutto l'oro del mondosomething priceless or invaluable
Polish za Chiny ludowe, za Chiny
- za Chiny ludowesomething priceless or invaluable
- za Chinysomething priceless or invaluable
- za chińskiego bogasomething priceless or invaluable
- za żadne skarby światasomething priceless or invaluable
- za żadne skarbysomething priceless or invaluable
- za skarby światasomething priceless or invaluable
- za nic na świeciesomething priceless or invaluable
- za żadną cenęsomething priceless or invaluable
- za żadne pieniądzesomething priceless or invaluable
Portuguese todo o ouro do mundo
- todo o ouro do mundosomething priceless or invaluable
Russian ни за каки́е коври́жки
- ни за каки́е коври́жки (ni za kakíje kovrížki)something priceless or invaluable
Spanish todo el oro en el mundo
- todo el oro en el mundosomething priceless or invaluable
Swedish inte för allt smör i Småland
- inte för allt smör i Smålandsomething priceless or invaluable
Cite this entry
all the tea in China. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/all%20the%20tea%20in%20China
“all the tea in China.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/all%20the%20tea%20in%20China. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “all the tea in China,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/all%20the%20tea%20in%20China.
Source: all the tea in China on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.