Definition
This four-character idiom (成语) means that one's income is insufficient to cover expenses, often describing a situation of financial difficulty or living beyond one's means. It is used as a predicate or attributive, similar to 'unable to make ends meet' in English. The literal breakdown is 'income does not spread out (cover) expenditure'.
f.e.
to be unable to make ends meetincome cannot cover expenses
Examples
- ,入不敷出。Tā zuìjìn huā qián tài duō, yǐjīng rù bù fū chū le.He's been spending too much lately and is already unable to make ends meet.
- ,,入不敷出,。Zhè jiā gōngsī zhuàn de shǎo, huā de duō, rù bù fū chū, zuìhòu dǎobì le.This company earned little but spent a lot, couldn't make ends meet, and eventually went bankrupt.
- 入不敷出,。Rúguǒ bù xiǎng rù bù fū chū, jiù yào xuéhuì lǐcái.If you don't want to be unable to make ends meet, you need to learn financial management.
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.