断齑画粥 — “Cut pickled vegetables and divide porridge”
断齑画粥 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to live a life of extreme austerity and diligence in study due to poverty; to study hard despite meager sustenance”. Literally, “cut pickled vegetables and divide porridge”.
断齑画粥 Pronunciation and Pinyin
断齑画粥 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 断齑画粥
Origin and Story of 断齑画粥
During the Northern Song Dynasty, Fan Zhongyan came from a poor family. He lived in a temple to study tirelessly day and night, enduring a very hard life.
He would cook two liters of millet into porridge, and after it solidified overnight, he would cut it into four pieces with a knife, eating two pieces each for breakfast and dinner, supplemented with some pickled vegetables.
Through his arduous studies, he was eventually appointed as an official. His famous maxim was: "Be the first to worry about the world's troubles and the last to enjoy its happiness."
Idioms Related to 断齑画粥
Synonyms of 断齑画粥
More idioms starting with 断
- duàn断hū乎bù不kě可Absolutely not allowed
- duàn断shì事yǐ以lǐ理judge matters by reason
- duàn断shì事rú如shén神make incredibly accurate judgments
- duàn断jǐng井tuí颓yuán垣dilapidated courtyard
- duàn断jué决rú如liú流make quick and decisive judgments
- duàn断fú凫xù续hè鹤go against natural laws
- duàn断fà发wén文shēn身ancient custom of cutting hair and tattooing body
- duàn断fà发wén纹shēn身ancient custom of cutting hair and tattooing body
- duàn断guī圭suì碎bì璧precious literary fragments
- duàn断yuán垣cán残bì壁crumbling ruins
- duàn断mò墨cán残chǔ楮incomplete ancient texts
- duàn断bì壁cán残yuán垣ruins and dilapidated walls
Recommended tools
Stroke Order Animator
Turn a Chinese character or sentence into a GIF or MP4
Open the tool →
Chinese Text Image Generator
Create PNGs with pinyin, highlight character parts or remove strokes
Open the tool →
Bingo Cards
Picture and word Bingo for your class
Open the tool →
Writing Worksheets
Printable tracing sheets with a QR learning companion
Open the tool →Questions about 断齑画粥
What does 断齑画粥 mean?
断齑画粥 (duàn jī huà zhōu) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to live a life of extreme austerity and diligence in study due to poverty; to study hard despite meager sustenance”.
How do you pronounce 断齑画粥?
断齑画粥 is pronounced duàn jī huà zhōu in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 断齑画粥 literally mean?
Literally, 断齑画粥 means “cut pickled vegetables and divide porridge”. It is used to mean “to live a life of extreme austerity and diligence in study due to poverty; to study hard despite meager sustenance”.
Where does 断齑画粥 come from?
断齑画粥 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 断齑画粥?
断：切断；齑：酱菜或腌菜之类。指食物粗简微薄。形容贫苦力学。