抱 佛 脚

bào fó jiǎodictionary entry

(fig.) to scramble to make up for a lack of preparation; to make a frantic, last-ditch effort; to cram for an exam (cf. 平時不燒香，臨時抱佛腳|平时不烧香，临时抱佛脚[píng shí bù shāo xiāng , lín shí bào fó jiǎo])

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-6cc618f50d3c49f2. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

抱佛腳 抱佛脚 [bao4 fo2 jiao3] /(fig.) to scramble to make up for a lack of preparation; to make a frantic, last-ditch effort; to cram for an exam (cf. 平時不燒香，臨時抱佛腳|平时不烧香，临时抱佛脚[ping2 shi2 bu4 shao1 xiang1 , lin2 shi2 bao4 fo2 jiao3])/

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Reference information

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

Character information

Other forms in these source records: 抱佛腳

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

抱佛脚

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.