Chinese word dictionary

左支右绌

zuǒ zhī yòu chù · to be in straitened circumstances

Practice word

Word information

Simplified左支右绌

Traditional左支右絀

Pinyinzuǒ zhī yòu chù

Part of speechDictionary

HSK 3.0Not listed

HSK 2.0Not listed

Character breakdown

Study each Hanzi separately, then return to the complete word so pronunciation, meaning, and movement stay connected.

左zuǒ

left; unorthodox, improper

支zhī

to support, to sustain; to withdraw, to pay; a branch (of a bank)

右yòu

right; right-wing

绌chù

to stitch, to sew; insufficient

How to learn 左支右绌

Listen once without reading, repeat the pinyin with its tones, then write every character in sequence. Finally, recall the complete meaning instead of memorizing each character as an isolated translation.

When the word appears in a sentence, check whether its part of speech and meaning match the definition shown here. Chinese words can change nuance with context.

Related vocabulary

Words with the same characters

Compare how a familiar Hanzi changes meaning inside another word.

右yòu

(bound form) right; right-hand side; (bound form) (politics) right of center; (bound form) (old) west; (literary) the right side as the side of precedence

右边yòubian

right side; right, to the right

左zuǒ

left; the Left (politics); east; unorthodox; queer; wrong; differing; opposite; variant of 佐[zuo3]; surname Zuo

左边zuǒbian

left; the left side; to the left of

支Zhī

surname Zhi

支持zhīchí

to be in favor of; to support; to back; support; backing; to stand by; CL:個|个[ge4]