僧多粥少
sēng duō zhōu shǎo
Pinyin

Definition

僧多粥少
 - 
sēng duō zhōu shǎo
  1. lit. many monks and not much gruel (idiom)
  2. fig. not enough to go around
  3. demand exceeds supply

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

多
duō
  1. 1 many
  2. 2 much
  3. 3 often
  4. 4 a lot of
  5. 5 numerous
  6. 6 more
  7. 7 in excess
  8. 8 how (to what extent)
  9. 9 multi-
  10. 10 Taiwan pr. [duó] when it means "how"
多少
duō shǎo
  1. 1 number
  2. 2 amount
  3. 3 somewhat
少
shǎo
  1. 1 few
  2. 2 less
  3. 3 to lack
  4. 4 to be missing
  5. 5 to stop (doing sth)
  6. 6 seldom
不少
bù shǎo
  1. 1 many
  2. 2 a lot
  3. 3 not few
二十多
èr shí duō
  1. 1 over 20
唐僧
Táng sēng
  1. 1 Xuanzang (602-664) Tang dynasty Buddhist monk and translator, who traveled to India 629-645
多久
duō jiǔ
  1. 1 how long?
多半
duō bàn
  1. 1 most
  2. 2 mostly
  3. 3 most likely
多多
duō duō
  1. 1 many
  2. 2 much
  3. 3 a lot
  4. 4 lots and lots
  5. 5 more
  6. 6 even more
多情
duō qíng
  1. 1 affectionate
  2. 2 passionate
  3. 3 emotional
  4. 4 sentimental
多数
duō shù
  1. 1 majority
  2. 2 most
多谢
duō xiè
  1. 1 many thanks
  2. 2 thanks a lot
多变
duō biàn
  1. 1 fickle
  2. 2 multi-variate (math.)
多云
duō yún
  1. 1 cloudy (meteorology)
多余
duō yú
  1. 1 superfluous
  2. 2 unnecessary
  3. 3 surplus
多么
duō me
  1. 1 how (wonderful etc)
  2. 2 what (a great idea etc)
  3. 3 however (difficult it may be etc)
  4. 4 (in interrogative sentences) how (much etc)
  5. 5 to what extent
大多
dà duō
  1. 1 for the most part
  2. 2 many
  3. 3 most
  4. 4 the greater part
  5. 5 mostly
大多数
dà duō shù
  1. 1 (great) majority
好多
hǎo duō
  1. 1 many
  2. 2 quite a lot
  3. 3 much better
少女
shào nu:3
  1. 1 girl
  2. 2 young lady

Idioms (20)

一粒老鼠屎坏了一锅粥
yī lì lǎo shǔ shǐ huài le yī guō zhōu
  1. 1 lit. a piece of rat feces spoiled the whole pot of congee (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch
不看僧面看佛面
bù kàn sēng miàn kàn fó miàn
  1. 1 lit. not for the monk's sake but for the Buddha's sake (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. (to do sth for sb) out of deference to sb else
不遑多让
bù huáng duō ràng
  1. 1 lit. to have no time for civilities (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. not to be outdone
  3. 3 not to yield to one's opponents
人多势众
rén duō shì zhòng
  1. 1 many men, a great force (idiom); many hands provide great strength
  2. 2 There is safety in numbers.
人烟稀少
rén yān xī shǎo
  1. 1 no sign of human habitation (idiom); desolate
以少胜多
yǐ shǎo shèng duō
  1. 1 using the few to defeat the many (idiom); to win from a position of weakness
僧多粥少
sēng duō zhōu shǎo
  1. 1 lit. many monks and not much gruel (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. not enough to go around
  3. 3 demand exceeds supply
凶多吉少
xiōng duō jí shǎo
  1. 1 everything bodes ill, no positive signs (idiom); inauspicious
  2. 2 everything points to disaster
博学多才
bó xué duō cái
  1. 1 erudite and multi-talented (idiom); versatile and able
博识多通
bó shí duō tōng
  1. 1 knowledgeable and perspicacious (idiom)
名目繁多
míng mù fán duō
  1. 1 names of many kinds (idiom); items of every description
命途多舛
mìng tú duō chuǎn
  1. 1 to meet with many difficulties in one's life (idiom)
多一事不如少一事
duō yī shì bù rú shǎo yī shì
  1. 1 it is better to avoid unnecessary trouble (idiom)
  2. 2 the less complications the better
多个朋友多条路
duō gè péng yǒu duō tiáo lù
  1. 1 the more friends you have, the more options you have in life (idiom)
多吃多占
duō chī duō zhàn
  1. 1 taking or eating more than one's due (idiom); greedy and selfish
多如牛毛
duō rú niú máo
  1. 1 as many as the hair of the ox (idiom)
  2. 2 great amount of
  3. 3 countless
多子多福
duō zǐ duō fú
  1. 1 the more sons, the more happiness (idiom)
多愁善感
duō chóu shàn gǎn
  1. 1 melancholy and moody (idiom); depressed personality
多愁多病
duō chóu duō bìng
  1. 1 much sorrows and illness (idiom); melancholy and weakly
多此一举
duō cǐ yī jǔ
  1. 1 to do more than is required (idiom); superfluous
  2. 2 gilding the lily

Sample Sentences

如果能解决生计，我们也想钻研学业。可是中国的现状不允许嘛。那么多应届生，工作又是僧多粥少。大学早就不是精英教育了。要怪就怪扩招！
rúguǒ néng jiějué shēngjì ，wǒmen yě xiǎng zuānyán xuéyè 。kěshì Zhōngguó de xiànzhuàng bù yǔnxǔ ma 。nàme duō yīngjièshēng ，gōngzuò yòu shì sēngduōzhōushǎo 。dàxué zǎo jiù bùshì jīngyīng jiàoyù le 。yào guài jiù guài kuòzhāo ！
If we can find a livelihood, then we also want to pursue our studies. But the present situation in China doesn't allow for it. There so many new graduates that there aren't enough jobs to go around. Universities haven't been pure learning institutions for a while. If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves for extending admissions!
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