糟糠 zāo kāng

poor coarse food; long-suffering wife

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. (abbr. for 糟糠妻zāo kāng qī) wife who goes through the hardships of poverty with her husband
  2. 2. chaff, husks, distillers' dregs etc (food eaten by the poor)
  3. 3. junk
  4. 4. (fig.) rubbish

Characters

Character Meaning
糟 zāo HSK 5
ruined; rotten; messy
糠 kāng
husk; (of a radish etc) spongy (and therefore unappetising)