柴米油盐
chái mǐ yóu yán
Pinyin

Definition

柴米油盐
 - 
chái mǐ yóu yán
  1. lit. firewood, rice, oil and salt
  2. fig. life's daily necessities

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

加油
jiā yóu
  1. 1 to add oil
  2. 2 to top up with gas
  3. 3 to refuel
  4. 4 to accelerate
  5. 5 to step on the gas
  6. 6 (fig.) to make an extra effort
  7. 7 to cheer sb on
油
yóu
  1. 1 oil
  2. 2 fat
  3. 3 grease
  4. 4 petroleum
  5. 5 to apply tung oil, paint or varnish
  6. 6 oily
  7. 7 greasy
  8. 8 glib
  9. 9 cunning
米
Mǐ
  1. 1 surname Mi
虾米
xiā mǐ
  1. 1 small shrimp
  2. 2 dried, shelled shrimps
加油站
jiā yóu zhàn
  1. 1 gas station
原油
yuán yóu
  1. 1 crude oil
大米
dà mǐ
  1. 1 (husked) rice
奶油
nǎi yóu
  1. 1 cream
  2. 2 butter
小米
Xiǎo mǐ
  1. 1 Xiaomi, Chinese electronics company founded in 2010
平方米
píng fāng mǐ
  1. 1 square meter
平米
píng mǐ
  1. 1 square meter
  2. 2 short for 平方米
指甲油
zhǐ jia yóu
  1. 1 nail polish
提拉米苏
tí lā mǐ sū
  1. 1 tiramisu (loanword)
柴
Chái
  1. 1 surname Chai
柴火
chái huo
  1. 1 firewood
柴米油盐
chái mǐ yóu yán
  1. 1 lit. firewood, rice, oil and salt
  2. 2 fig. life's daily necessities
植物油
zhí wù yóu
  1. 1 vegetable oil
橄榄油
gǎn lǎn yóu
  1. 1 olive oil
机油
jī yóu
  1. 1 engine oil
毫米
háo mǐ
  1. 1 millimeter

Idioms (18)

不当家不知柴米贵
bù dāng jiā bù zhī chái mǐ guì
  1. 1 a person who doesn't manage a household would not be aware how expensive it is (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
巧妇难为无米之炊
qiǎo fù nán wéi wú mǐ zhī chuī
  1. 1 The cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice (idiom); You won't get anywhere without equipment.
柴门小户
chái mén xiǎo hù
  1. 1 woodcutter's cottage (idiom); poor person's hovel
  2. 2 fig. my humble house
油光可鉴
yóu guāng kě jiàn
  1. 1 lit. oily and shiny to the point of reflecting (idiom)
  2. 2 lustrous
油然而生
yóu rán ér shēng
  1. 1 arising involuntarily (idiom); spontaneous
  2. 2 to spring up unbidden (of emotion)
滚油煎心
gǔn yóu jiān xīn
  1. 1 to suffer mental anguish (idiom)
火上加油
huǒ shàng jiā yóu
  1. 1 to add oil to the fire (idiom); fig. to aggravate a situation
  2. 2 to enrage people and make matters worse
火上浇油
huǒ shàng jiāo yóu
  1. 1 to pour oil on the fire (idiom); fig. to aggravate a situation
  2. 2 to enrage people and make matters worse
烈火干柴
liè huǒ gān chái
  1. 1 lit. intense fire to dry wood (idiom); inferno in a woodpile
  2. 2 fig. consuming passion between lovers
生米做成熟饭
shēng mǐ zuò chéng shú fàn
  1. 1 lit. the raw rice is now cooked (idiom); fig. it is done and can't be changed
  2. 2 It's too late to change anything now.
  3. 3 also written 生米煮成熟飯|生米煮成熟饭
生米煮成熟饭
shēng mǐ zhǔ chéng shú fàn
  1. 1 the rice is cooked
  2. 2 what's done is done
  3. 3 it's too late to change anything now (idiom)
生米熟饭
shēng mǐ shú fàn
  1. 1 abbr. for 生米煮成熟飯|生米煮成熟饭, lit. the raw rice is now cooked (idiom); fig. it is done and can't be changed
  2. 2 It's too late to change anything now.
留得青山在，不怕没柴烧
liú de qīng shān zài , bù pà méi chái shāo
  1. 1 While the green hills last, there'll be wood to burn (idiom). Where there's life there's hope.
众人拾柴火焰高
zhòng rén shí chái huǒ yàn gāo
  1. 1 when everybody gathers fuel, the flames are higher (idiom)
  2. 2 the more people, the more strength
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
米已成炊
mǐ yǐ chéng chuī
  1. 1 lit. the rice has already been cooked (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. what is done cannot be undone
骨瘦如柴
gǔ shòu rú chái
  1. 1 as thin as a match
  2. 2 emaciated (idiom)

Sample Sentences