靠 山 吃 山，靠 水 吃 水

kào shān chī shān , kào shuǐ chī shuǐdictionary entry

lit. the mountain dweller lives off the mountain, the shore dweller lives off the sea (idiom) / fig. to make the best use of local resources / to exploit one's position to advance oneself / to find one's niche / to live off the land

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-5a9fd9f1afc1457c. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

靠山吃山，靠水吃水 靠山吃山，靠水吃水 [kao4 shan1 chi1 shan1 , kao4 shui3 chi1 shui3] /lit. the mountain dweller lives off the mountain, the shore dweller lives off the sea (idiom)/fig. to make the best use of local resources/to exploit one's position to advance oneself/to find one's niche/to live off the land/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

靠
kào
to lean against or on / to stand by the side of / to come near to / to depend on / to trust / to fuck (vulgar) / traditional military costume drama where the performers wear armor (old)
山
shān
mountain / hill (CL:座[zuò]) / (coll.) small bundle of straw for silkworms to spin cocoons on
Shān
surname Shan
吃
chī
to eat / to consume / to eat at (a cafeteria etc) / to eradicate / to destroy / to absorb / to suffer (shock, injury, defeat etc)
山
shān
mountain / hill (CL:座[zuò]) / (coll.) small bundle of straw for silkworms to spin cocoons on
Shān
surname Shan
靠
kào
to lean against or on / to stand by the side of / to come near to / to depend on / to trust / to fuck (vulgar) / traditional military costume drama where the performers wear armor (old)
水
shuǐ
water / (after a name) ... River / to swim (used mostly in 會水|会水[huì shuǐ] and 水性[shuǐ xìng]) / (coll.) lacking in substance / shoddy / (bound form) additional cost / extra income / classifier for washings of a garment
Shuǐ
surname Shui / Shui ethnic group
吃
chī
to eat / to consume / to eat at (a cafeteria etc) / to eradicate / to destroy / to absorb / to suffer (shock, injury, defeat etc)
水
shuǐ
water / (after a name) ... River / to swim (used mostly in 會水|会水[huì shuǐ] and 水性[shuǐ xìng]) / (coll.) lacking in substance / shoddy / (bound form) additional cost / extra income / classifier for washings of a garment
Shuǐ
surname Shui / Shui ethnic group

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.