马无夜草不肥，人无外快不富 mǎ wú yè cǎo bù féi ， rén wú wài kuài bù fù

a horse cannot get fat without an extra ration, a man cannot get rich without an extra income (idiom)

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. a horse cannot get fat without an extra ration, a man cannot get rich without an extra income (idiom)

Characters

Character Meaning
马 mǎ HSK 3
horse; surname Ma
无 wú HSK 4
not; no; not to have
夜 yè HSK 5
night; variant of 夜yè
草 cǎo HSK 3
grass; careless; rough
不 bù HSK 1
not; no; (negative prefix)
肥 féi HSK 4
fat; loose-fitting or large; fertile
人 rén HSK 1
person; people; man
无 wú HSK 4
not; no; not to have
外 wài HSK 2
outside; external; foreign
快 kuài HSK 2
quick; rapid; soon
不 bù HSK 1
not; no; (negative prefix)
富 fù HSK 4
rich; wealthy; abundant