节衣缩食 (jié yī suō shí)

Character breakdown

• 节 (jiē) · 5 strokes

  Simplified form of 節. Phonosemantic compound. ⺮ represents the meaning and 即 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "bamboo joint". Later used as a measure word for segments and division…

• 衣 (yī) · 6 strokes

  Pictograph of a shirt or coat.

• 缩 (suō) · 14 strokes

• 食 (shí) · 9 strokes

  Depicts a mouth (亼) eating from a food vessel (皀).

Usage

父母节衣缩食供他上学。

to save on food and clothing (idiom); to live frugally

fù mǔ jié yī suō shí gōng tā shàng xué 。