节衣缩食
jié yī suō shí · HSK 7
to live frugally
👕🍚 节 save + 衣 clothes + 缩 shrink + 食 food = scrimp on clothes and food
Two parallel verb+noun pairs: 节衣 (economize on clothing) and 缩食 (cut back on food). Both halves mean tightening the same belt, so the idiom stacks them to stress living frugally.
节 — bamboo radical 竹 (⺮) + 即
Originally written 節, depicting a bamboo joint — the segmented node where a stalk divides. The bamboo radical ⺮ gives the meaning, while 即 supplies the sound. From 'bamboo joint' the meaning expanded to any segment, hence 'section,' 'festival' (a marked point in the year), and 'restraint' (knowing where to stop).
缩 — silk radical 糹 + 宿 (lodge, phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The silk radical 糹 carries the meaning, since shrinking and tightening were associated with drawing in cords or fabric. The right side 宿 (sù) supplies the sound. The original sense of binding cloth tight extended to the modern meaning 'to shrink' or 'contract.'