拆东补西 chāi dōng bǔ xī

rob Peter to pay Paul

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. lit. pull down the east wall to repair the west (idiom); fig. temporary expedient
  2. 2. Rob Peter to pay Paul

Characters

Character Meaning
拆 chāi HSK 5
to tear down; to tear open; to tear apart
东 dōng HSK 1
east; surname Dong
补 bǔ HSK 5
to make up for; to supplement; to repair
西 xī HSK 1
west; the West; abbr. for Spain 西班牙xī bān yá