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

to act according to actual circumstances

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. to act according to actual circumstances
  2. 2. to live within one's means
  3. 3. 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

Characters

Character Meaning
看 kān HSK 1
to see; to look at; to watch
菜 cài HSK 1
vegetable; dish (type of food); cuisine
吃 chī HSK 1
to eat; to consume; to eat at (a cafeteria etc)
飯 fàn
meal; cooked rice; devotee
量 liáng HSK 4
quantity; amount; capacity
體 tǐ
body; form; style
裁 cái HSK 5
to cut; to reduce; to cut back (e.g. on staff)
衣 yī HSK 1
clothes; Kangxi radical 145; to wear