节衣缩食

節衣縮食

jiéyī-suōshí

idiom HSK 7-9 #63,634

Meanings

HSK 7-9

父母节衣缩食供孩子上大学。

Fùmǔ jiéyī-suōshí gōng háizi shàng dàxué.

The parents scrimped and saved to put their child through college.

HSK 7-9

为了买房，他们节衣缩食了好几年。

Wèile mǎifáng, tāmen jiéyī-suōshí le hǎojǐ nián.

To buy a house, they lived frugally for several years.

memory

节衣 (cut back on clothes) + 缩食 (shrink meals): saving on the two most basic necessities - the image of extreme frugality.

节 jié

衣 yī

缩 suō

食 shí