节衣缩食

節衣縮食

jiéyī-suōshí

idiom HSK 7-9 #63,634

Meanings

1 to scrimp on food and clothing (idiom)
2 to live frugally; to tighten one's belt

Characters

to save; to economize

to shrink; to reduce

Examples

父母节衣缩食供孩子上大学。

Fùmǔ jiéyīsuōshí gōng háizi shàng dàxué.

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

为了买房，他们节衣缩食了好几年。

Wèile mǎifáng, tāmen jiéyīsuōshí le hǎojǐ nián.

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

Tips

memory

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

Stroke Order

节 jié

衣 yī

缩 suō

食 shí