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Chinese/Dictionary entry

柴米油盐

chái mǐ yóu yándictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
(lit.) firewood, rice, oil and salt (idiom) / (fig.) life's daily necessities
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-77030c00eeb88716. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

柴米油鹽 柴米油盐 [chai2 mi3 you2 yan2] /(lit.) firewood, rice, oil and salt (idiom)/(fig.) life's daily necessities/

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.

Other forms in these source records: 柴米油鹽

  • 柴
    chái

    firewood / lean (of meat) / thin (of a person)

    Chái

    surname Chai

  • 米
    mǐ

    uncooked rice / meter (unit of length) / (slang) Chinese yuan

    Mǐ

    surname Mi

  • 油
    yóu

    oil / fat / grease / petroleum / to apply tung oil, paint or varnish / oily / greasy / glib / cunning

  • 盐
    yán

    salt / CL:粒[lì]

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.