骨瘦如柴

gǔshòu-rúchái
idiom #20,374

Meanings

  1. 1 as thin as a match
  2. 2 emaciated
  3. 3 all skin and bones

Examples

HSK 4
Dà bìng zhīhòu, tā biàn de gǔshòu-rúchái.
After a serious illness, he became utterly emaciated.
HSK 7-9
Nà zhī liúlànggǒu gǔshòu-rúchái, lìngrén xīnténg.
That stray dog was all skin and bones - heartbreaking to see.

Tips

memory
Picture a skeleton (骨 = bone) that is thin (瘦 = thin) like (如 = like) firewood (柴 = firewood/kindling). The image of bones as dry sticks of wood makes the emaciation viscerally vivid and memorable.

Stroke Order

骨 gǔ
瘦 shòu
如 rú
柴 chái