省吃俭用

省吃儉用

shěngchījiǎnyòng

idiom #37,203

Meanings

1 to live frugally; to scrimp and save
2 to economize on food and daily expenses

Characters

to save; economize

Examples

父母省吃俭用供我读书。

Fùmǔ shěngchījiǎnyòng gōng wǒ dúshū.

My parents scrimped and saved to put me through school.

她省吃俭用攒下了一笔钱。

Tā shěngchījiǎnyòng zǎn xià le yī bǐ qián.

She saved up a sum of money by living frugally.

老人一辈子省吃俭用。

Lǎorén yī bèizi shěngchījiǎnyòng.

The old man lived frugally his whole life.

Tips

history

Found in 清·吴敬梓《儒林外史》第四十七回, describing 虞华轩 saving up silver by 省吃俭用. The phrase was already a stock description of thrifty householders in Qing-era fiction.

Stroke Order

省 shěng

吃 chī

俭 jiǎn

用 yòng