riche
riche — adjective
- richepositive
- richercomparative
- richestsuperlative
1. describing the flashy taste, lifestyle, or behaviour of people who have come int
describing the flashy taste, lifestyle, or behaviour of people who have come into money quickly and enjoy making their new wealth obvious through expensive purchases and lavish displays.
The Watanabe family bought a mansion with gold-plated doorknobs, a purchase many saw as purely riche.
predicative use: 'purely riche'
Wei's riche taste showed in the diamond-encrusted watch and the sports car in the driveway.
attributive use: 'riche taste'
The hotel lobby had a distinctly riche style, with marble columns and a giant crystal chandelier.
- nouveau riche
the full French phrase; 'riche' alone is a shortened form used especially as an adjective
- ostentatious
broader in meaning — refers to any showy display, not necessarily of new money
- flashy
more informal and general; lacks the specific 'new money' connotation of 'riche'
- understated
describes the quiet, modest style associated with old money, opposite to the showiness of 'riche'
文法句型
riche + noun
be + riche
用法筆記
Frequently used in attributive position before nouns like 'taste', 'style', 'lifestyle'. Carries a mildly critical or mocking tone — it implies the display of wealth lacks refinement.
常見錯誤
riche — noun
1. people who have recently acquired wealth and are eager to display it publicly, e
people who have recently acquired wealth and are eager to display it publicly, especially through costly possessions and extravagant social events, often viewed as lacking the understated manners of inherited wealth.
The city's art galleries are now filled with the riche, buying paintings to match their new sofas.
pattern: 'the riche' as collective plural
Oluwaseun noticed that the riche in his neighbourhood drove luxury cars but rarely spoke to neighbours.
Unlike old-money families, the riche often display their wealth through flashy purchases and extravagant parties.
- nouveaux riches
the French plural form; in English both 'nouveaux riches' and 'the riche' refer to the same group
- new money
informal; can refer to individuals ('new-money people') or the concept itself
- upstarts
more negative; emphasises the social climbing aspect rather than the spending habits
- old money
families whose wealth has been inherited across generations, typically associated with understated taste
文法句型
the riche + plural verb
用法筆記
Always used as a collective plural noun preceded by 'the' — similar to 'the rich' but narrower in meaning. Distinguish from the adjective sense (sense adj/1): the noun refers to a group of people, not to a quality or style.