- lit. eating away next year's food in advance
- fig. to dip into the next month's check
- live now, pay later
Characters
- 寅 (寅): 3rd earthly branch: 3-5 a.m., 1st solar month (4th February-5th March), year of the Tiger; ancient Chinese compass point: 60°
- 吃 (吃): to eat; to consume; to eat at (a cafeteria etc); to eradicate; to destroy; to absorb; to suffer (shock, injury, defeat etc)
- 卯 (卯): mortise (slot cut into wood to receive a tenon); 4th earthly branch: 5-7 a.m., 2nd solar month (6th March-4th April), year of the Rabbit; ancient Chinese compass point: 90° (east); variant of 鉚|铆[mao3]; to exert one's strength
- 粮 (糧): grain; food; provisions; agricultural tax paid in grain
Resources
- Wiktionary: 寅吃卯粮
- MDBG: 寅吃卯粮
- Examples with 寅吃卯粮 on Tatoeba
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