看菜吃飯,量體裁衣 kān cài chī fàn , liáng tǐ cái yī

DEFINITIONS

  1. eat depending on the dish, cut cloth according to the body (idiom); to fit the appetite to the dishes and the dress to the figure
  2. to act according to actual circumstances
  3. to live within one's means

CHARACTERS

看 kān look, see; examine, scrutinize
菜 cài vegetables; dish, order; food
吃 chī eat; drink; suffer, endure, bear
飯 fàn cooked rice; food; meal
量 liáng measure, quantity, capacity
體 tǐ body; group, class, body, unit
裁 cái cut out; decrease
衣 yī clothes, clothing; cover, skin