TongTong
Sign in

节俭 (jié jiǎn) — frugal; economical

Definition

An adjective describing a person's frugal lifestyle — how someone lives, not a single purchase. Unlike 节约 (verb 'to save/economize'), 节俭 is a habit or character trait.

adjective
frugaleconomical

Examples

  • 节俭，。
    Tā shēng huó hěn jié jiǎn, cóng bú luàn huā qián.
    He lives very frugally and never wastes money.
  • 节俭，。
    jié jiǎn Shì yì zhǒng měi dé, wǒ men yīng gāi yǎng chéng zhè zhǒng xí guàn.
    Frugality is a virtue; we should cultivate this habit.
  • ，节俭。
    Suī rán tā jiā hěn yǒu qián, dàn yī rán hěn jié jiǎn dì yòng shuǐ yòng diàn.
    Although his family is very rich, they still use water and electricity frugally.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

节jiéeconomize
俭jiǎnfrugal

Both 节 and 俭 express thrift, so together they mean frugal.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 節; 节 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺮Written in full as竹zhúbamboo
Sound part声符shēngfú
即
即jí節jié
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 節 pairs ⺮ (bamboo) with 即, which gives the sound; the bamboo part points to a node of bamboo. The simplified 节 is a later abbreviation.

Open 节 →

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 儉; 俭 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
僉
僉qiān儉jiǎn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 儉 pairs 人 (person) with 僉 as a sound part; the simplified 俭 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 俭 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Personality & Traits

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.