吃紧 (chī jǐn) — (of finances) tight, strained, short of money; (of a situation) tense, critical, serious

Definition

Used for situations or finances under pressure — 'tense, critical, short of cash' — more serious than just 紧张, and usually implies real strain, not just nervousness.

adjective
(of finances) tightstrainedshort of money(of a situation) tensecriticalserious
Easily confused

Examples

  • 吃紧，。
    Zuì jìn shǒu tóu yǒu diǎn chī jǐn, suǒ yǐ yào shǎo huā diǎn qián.
    I'm a bit tight on money lately, so I need to spend less.
  • 吃紧，。
    Guó jì xíng shì chī jǐn, gè guó dōu zài mì qiè guān zhù.
    The international situation is tense, and all countries are watching closely.
  • 吃紧，。
    Gōng sī zī jīn chī jǐn, zhèng zài xiǎng bàn fǎ jiě jué.
    The company's funds are tight, and they're figuring out a solution.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

吃chībear
紧jǐntight

吃 (bear) and 紧 (tight) combine to mean strained or critical.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
乞
乞qǐ吃chī
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

吃 combines 口 (mouth) with 乞, which gives the sound; it originally wrote a word meaning to stutter.

Open 吃 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 緊; 紧 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
臤
臤qiān緊jǐn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 緊 pairs 糸 (thread) with 臤 as a sound part; the simplified 紧 is a later shorthand.

Open 紧 →

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