偷工减料
tōu gōng jiǎn liào
Pinyin

Definition

偷工减料
 - 
tōu gōng jiǎn liào
  1. to skimp on the job and stint on materials (idiom)
  2. jerry-building
  3. sloppy work

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

偷
tōu
  1. 1 to steal
  2. 2 to pilfer
  3. 3 to snatch
  4. 4 thief
  5. 5 stealthily
偷偷
tōu tōu
  1. 1 stealthily
  2. 2 secretly
  3. 3 covertly
  4. 4 furtively
  5. 5 on the sly
员工
yuán gōng
  1. 1 staff
  2. 2 personnel
  3. 3 employee
工作
gōng zuò
  1. 1 to work
  2. 2 (of a machine) to operate
  3. 3 job
  4. 4 work
  5. 5 task
  6. 6 CL:個|个[gè],份[fèn],項|项[xiàng]
工资
gōng zī
  1. 1 wages
  2. 2 pay
  3. 3 CL:個|个[gè],份[fèn],月[yuè]
资料
zī liào
  1. 1 material
  2. 2 resources
  3. 3 data
  4. 4 information
  5. 5 profile (Internet)
  6. 6 CL:份[fèn],個|个[gè]
不料
bù liào
  1. 1 unexpectedly
  2. 2 to one's surprise
主料
zhǔ liào
  1. 1 main ingredients (in a cooking recipe)
人工
rén gōng
  1. 1 artificial
  2. 2 manpower
  3. 3 manual work
佐料
zuǒ liào
  1. 1 condiments
  2. 2 seasoning
做工
zuò gōng
  1. 1 to work with one's hands
  2. 2 manual work
  3. 3 workmanship
偷吃
tōu chī
  1. 1 to eat on the sly
  2. 2 to pilfer food
  3. 3 to be unfaithful
偷情
tōu qíng
  1. 1 to carry on a clandestine love affair
偷懒
tōu lǎn
  1. 1 to goof off
  2. 2 to be lazy
偷拍
tōu pāi
  1. 1 to take a picture of a person without permission or without their knowledge
偷看
tōu kàn
  1. 1 to peep
  2. 2 to peek
  3. 3 to steal a glance
偷窥
tōu kuī
  1. 1 to peep
  2. 2 to peek
  3. 3 to act as voyeur
偷笑
tōu xiào
  1. 1 to laugh up one's sleeve
偷闲
tōu xián
  1. 1 to snatch a moment of leisure
  2. 2 to take a break from work
  3. 3 also written 偷閒|偷闲[tōu xián]
出乎意料
chū hū yì liào
  1. 1 beyond expectation (idiom); unexpected

Idioms (20)

偷天换日
tōu tiān huàn rì
  1. 1 to engage in fraudulent activities (idiom)
  2. 2 skulduggery
  3. 3 to hoodwink people
  4. 4 to cheat sb audaciously
偷工减料
tōu gōng jiǎn liào
  1. 1 to skimp on the job and stint on materials (idiom)
  2. 2 jerry-building
  3. 3 sloppy work
偷梁换柱
tōu liáng huàn zhù
  1. 1 lit. to steal a rafter and replace it with a column
  2. 2 to replace the original with a fake
  3. 3 to perpetrate a fraud (idiom)
偷鸡不成蚀把米
tōu jī bù chéng shí bǎ mǐ
  1. 1 lit. to try to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice used to lure it (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to try to gain an advantage only to end up worse off
  3. 3 to go for wool and come back shorn
偷鸡摸狗
tōu jī mō gǒu
  1. 1 to imitate the dog and steal chicken (idiom)
  2. 2 to pilfer
  3. 3 to dally with women
  4. 4 to have affairs
偷香窃玉
tōu xiāng qiè yù
  1. 1 lit. stolen scent, pilfered jade (idiom); philandering
  2. 2 secret illicit sex
出乎意料
chū hū yì liào
  1. 1 beyond expectation (idiom); unexpected
出乎预料
chū hū yù liào
  1. 1 beyond expectation (idiom); unexpected
出人意料
chū rén yì liào
  1. 1 unexpected (idiom)
  2. 2 surprising
始料未及
shǐ liào wèi jí
  1. 1 not expected at the outset (idiom)
  2. 2 unforeseen
  3. 3 to be surprised by the turn of events
工欲善其事，必先利其器
gōng yù shàn qí shì , bì xiān lì qí qì
  1. 1 To do a good job, an artisan needs the best tools (idiom). Good tools are prerequisite to the successful execution of a job
忍垢偷生
rěn gòu tōu shēng
  1. 1 to bear humiliation to save one's skin (idiom)
忍辱偷生
rěn rǔ tōu shēng
  1. 1 to bear humiliation to save one's skin (idiom)
料事如神
liào shì rú shén
  1. 1 to prophesy with supernatural accuracy (idiom)
  2. 2 to have an incredible foresight
异曲同工
yì qǔ tóng gōng
  1. 1 different tunes played with equal skill (idiom)
  2. 2 different methods leading to the same result
  3. 3 different approach but equally satisfactory outcome
磨刀不误砍柴工
mó dāo bù wù kǎn chái gōng
  1. 1 lit. sharpening the axe won't make the wood-splitting take longer (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. time invested in preparations is not lost
  3. 3 a beard well lathered is half shaved
神工鬼斧
shén gōng guǐ fǔ
  1. 1 supernaturally fine craft (idiom); the work of the Gods
  2. 2 uncanny workmanship
  3. 3 superlative craftsmanship
良工心苦
liáng gōng xīn kǔ
  1. 1 expert craft from hard practice (idiom); hard-won skill
  2. 2 A masterpiece demands suffering.
苟且偷安
gǒu qiě tōu ān
  1. 1 seeking only ease and comfort (idiom); making no attempt to improve oneself
  2. 2 taking things easily without attending to responsibilities
苟且偷生
gǒu qiě tōu shēng
  1. 1 to drift and live without purpose (idiom); to drag out an ignoble existence

Sample Sentences

很多公司在盖房子的时候，都会偷工减料。结果地震一来，全部都倒了。
hěnduō gōngsī zài gài fángzi de shíhou ，dōu huì tōugōngjiǎnliào 。jiéguǒ dìzhèn yī lái ，quánbù dōu dǎo le 。
A lot of companies would cut corners when they build houses. When the earthquake hit, all the houses fell down in the end.
Go to Lesson 
别偷工减料，因为偷鸡不着蚀把米。
bié tōugōngjiǎnliào ，yīnwèi tōujībùzháoshíbǎmǐ 。
Don’t skimp on the materials because you might go for wool and come back shorn.
Go to Lesson