眼前疮

眼前瘡

yǎnqiánchuāng

idiom

Meanings

1 a sore right in front of you
2 an immediate, pressing problem
3 the crisis you have to deal with first

Characters

Examples

HSK 6

这笔钱只能救眼前疮，长远还是得想办法。

Zhèbǐ qián zhǐnéng jiù yǎnqiánchuāng, chángyuǎn háishì děi xiǎng bànfǎ.

This money can only handle the immediate sore - you'll still need a long-term plan.

HSK 7-9

他借高利贷来补眼前疮，结果越陷越深。

Tā jiè gāolìdài lái bǔ yǎnqiánchuāng, jiéguǒ yuè xiàn yuè shēn.

He took out high-interest loans to patch the immediate crisis, and only sank in deeper.

Tips

history

From the Tang poet Nie Yizhong (聂夷中): 医得眼前疮，剜却心头肉 ("You can cure the sore before your eyes by carving flesh from your heart") - biting satire on peasants selling their own children to pay taxes. The phrase survives as the pressing problem you must solve now.

Stroke Order

眼 yǎn

前 qián

疮 chuāng