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寅吃卯粮

yín chī mǎo liángdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. eating away next year's food in advance / fig. to dip into the next month's check / live now, pay later
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-a4705827478ce734. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

寅吃卯糧 寅吃卯粮 [yin2 chi1 mao3 liang2] /lit. eating away next year's food in advance/fig. to dip into the next month's check/live now, pay later/

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: 寅吃卯糧

  • 寅
    yín

    3rd earthly branch: 3-5 a.m., 1st solar month (4th February-5th March), year of the Tiger / ancient Chinese compass point: 60°

  • 吃
    chī

    to eat / to consume / to eat at (a cafeteria etc) / to eradicate / to destroy / to absorb / to suffer (shock, injury, defeat etc)

  • 卯
    mǎo

    mortise (slot cut into wood to receive a tenon) / 4th earthly branch: 5–7 a.m., 2nd solar month (6th March–4th April), Year of the Rabbit / ancient Chinese compass point: 90° (east) / (coll.) to concentrate one's strength (variant of 鉚|铆[mǎo])

  • 粮
    liáng

    grain / food / provisions / agricultural tax paid in grain

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.