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拆东补西
拆东补西
拆东补西
拆东补西
拆东补西
拆东补西
拆东补西
拆东补西

拆东补西 — “To take from one place to patch up another”

拆东补西 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to take from one place to patch up another”. To make ends meet by makeshift means; to rob Peter to pay Paul. Literally, “demolish east to mend west”.

Frequency

拆东补西 Pronunciation and Pinyin

拆东补西 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order
CharacterPinyinStrokesMeaning
拆
chāi8take apart, dismantle, demolish
东
dōng5east, host
补
bǔ8mend, supplement, or benefit
西
xī6west; Western countries

Example Sentence with 拆东补西

我们现在手头紧,只能拆东补西地维持日常开销。
We are currently short on funds, so we can only manage by robbing Peter to pay Paul to cover daily expenses.

Idioms Related to 拆东补西

Synonyms of 拆东补西

  • chāi拆dōng东qiáng墙bǔ补xī西qiáng墙rob Peter to pay Paul

More idioms starting with 拆

  • chāi拆jiā家dàng荡chǎn产lose everything and ruin family
  • chāi拆làn烂wū污make a mess due to irresponsibility
  • chāi拆pái牌dào道zì字character decomposition word game
  • chāi拆bái白dào道zì字word puzzle by deconstructing characters
  • chāi拆xī西bǔ补dōng东rob Peter to pay Paul

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Questions about 拆东补西

What does 拆东补西 mean?

拆东补西 (chāi dōng bǔ xī) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to take from one place to patch up another”.

How do you pronounce 拆东补西?

拆东补西 is pronounced chāi dōng bǔ xī in Mandarin Chinese.

What does 拆东补西 literally mean?

Literally, 拆东补西 means “demolish east to mend west”. It is used to mean “to take from one place to patch up another”.

What is the Chinese definition of 拆东补西?

拆掉东边去补西边。比喻临时勉强应付。

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