偷工减料 tōu gōng jiǎn liào

DEFINITIONS

  1. to skimp on the job and stint on materials (idiom)
  2. jerry-building
  3. sloppy work

CHARACTERS

偷 tōu
HSK 5
to steal, burglar, thief
工 gōng
HSK 1
labor, work; worker, laborer
减 jiǎn
HSK 4
decrease, subtract, diminish
料 liào
HSK 3
consider, conjecture; materials, ingredients