就地取材

jiùdì-qǔcái

idiom #53,147

Meanings

1 to draw materials from where one is
2 to use local resources; source on site
3 to make do with what's at hand

Characters

place; location

to take; obtain

Examples

HSK 4

盖房子时，他们就地取材，用了附近的石头。

Gài fángzi shí, tāmen jiùdì-qǔcái, yòng le fùjìn de shítou.

Building the house, they used local resources - stones from nearby.

HSK 6

导演就地取材，请当地村民当群众演员。

Dǎoyǎn jiùdì-qǔcái, qǐng dāngdì cūnmín dāng qúnzhòng yǎnyuán.

The director drew on local resources, casting villagers as the extras.

Tips

history

From 李渔's Qing essay 《笠翁偶集·三·手足》: 就地取材，但不失立言之大意而已矣 - used metaphorically of picking rhetorical examples from immediate surroundings rather than ransacking the classics.

usage

Literal uses dominate: construction, cooking, filmmaking, craft. Figurative use (e.g. drawing anecdotes from daily life) is also fine. Often praised as practical and economical; contrast with 舍近求远 (ignoring what's nearby to chase the distant).

Stroke Order

就 jiù

地 dì

取 qǔ

材 cái