由奢入俭难

由奢入儉難

yóu shē rù jiǎn nán

quotation

Meanings

1 to go from extravagance back to frugality is hard - once accustomed to luxury, it is hard to cut back
2 literally: from extravagance entering frugality, difficult

Characters

Examples

HSK 7-9

由俭入奢易，由奢入俭难，花钱习惯要早立规矩。

Yóu jiǎn rù shē yì, yóu shē rù jiǎn nán, huāqián xíguàn yào zǎo lì guīju.

Going from thrift to luxury is easy; from luxury back to thrift is hard - set spending rules early.

HSK 7-9

降薪之后生活很痛苦，真是由奢入俭难。

Jiàngxīn zhīhòu shēnghuó hěn tòngkǔ, zhēnshì yóu shē rù jiǎn nán.

After the pay cut, life became hard - truly, shifting from luxury to thrift is painful.

Tips

history

From Sima Guang's (司马光) Northern Song 《训俭示康》 (Instructions on Frugality for [my son] Kang). Couplet: 由俭入奢易，由奢入俭难 - 'To go from frugality into extravagance is easy; to go from extravagance back into frugality is difficult.' Sima Guang - compiler of 《资治通鉴》 - was famously thrifty despite being chief minister, and wrote this piece to train his son.

usage

Paired couplet - always quoted with its mate 由俭入奢易. Warning-register: financial advisers, parents, and household economists all reach for this line. 俭 is jiǎn (thrift), 奢 is shē (extravagance) - easy to mix up character order.

Stroke Order

由 yóu

奢 shē

入 rù

俭 jiǎn

难 nán