拆東補西 chāi dōng bǔ xī

DEFINITIONS

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

CHARACTERS

拆 chāi
HSK 5
to break up, split apart, rip open; to destroy
東 dōng east, eastern, eastward
補 bǔ mend, patch, fix, repair, restore
西 xī
HSK 1
west(ern); westward, occident