入不敷出

rùbù-fūchū

idiom #29,875

Meanings

1 income does not cover expenditure
2 unable to make ends meet
3 spending more than one earns

Characters

to enter; income

to be sufficient; to cover; to spread

to exit; expenditure; output

Examples

HSK 3

他每个月都入不敷出，只能靠信用卡度日。

Tā měigè yuè dōu rùbù-fūchū, zhǐnéng kào xìnyòngkǎ dùrì.

Every month he spends more than he earns and can only get by on credit cards.

HSK 3

这家小店生意不好，长期入不敷出。

Zhèjiā xiǎodiàn shēngyì bùhǎo, chángqī rùbù-fūchū.

This small shop does poor business and has long been unable to make ends meet.

Tips

memory

入 (income coming in) + 不 (not) + 敷 (enough to cover) + 出 (expenditure going out). What comes in is not enough to cover what goes out - a vivid picture of a leaking financial bucket.

Stroke Order

入 rù

不 bù

敷 fū

出 chū