Chinese word dictionary

节衣缩食

jiéyī-suōshí · to save on food and clothing (idiom); to live frugally

Practice word

Word information

Simplified节衣缩食

Traditional節衣縮食

Pinyinjiéyī-suōshí

Part of speechGeneral

HSK 3.07-9

HSK 2.0Not listed

Character breakdown

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

节jié

festival; knot, joint; segment; to economize, to save

衣yī

cloth; clothes, apparel; dress, coat

缩suō

to withdraw, to shrink, to pull back; abbreviation

食shí

food; to eat

How to learn 节衣缩食

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.

衣服yīfu

clothes; CL:件[jian4],套[tao4]

大衣dàyī

overcoat; topcoat; cloak; CL:件[jian4]

过节guòjié

to celebrate a festival; after the celebrations (i.e. once the festival is over)

季节jìjié

time; season; period; CL:個|个[ge4]

节jié

joint; node; (bound form) section; segment; solar term (one of the 24 divisions of the year in the traditional Chinese calendar); seasonal festival; (bound form) to economize; to save; (bound form) moral integrity; chastity; classifier for segments: lessons, train wagons, biblical verses etc; knot (nautical miles per hour)

节目jiémù