俭省 (jiǎn shěng) — frugal, thrifty

Definition

俭省 (jiǎnshěng) is a written, somewhat literary adjective meaning 'frugal / thrifty' — more formal than the everyday 节省 (jiéshěng), and emphasizes cutting unnecessary spending.

adjective
frugalthrifty

Examples

  • 俭省，。
    Tā shēng huó hěn jiǎn shěng, cóng bú luàn huā qián.
    He lives very frugally and never wastes money.
  • 俭省，。
    jiǎn shěng Yì diǎn, jiù néng cún xià bù shǎo qián.
    If you're a bit more thrifty, you can save quite a lot of money.
  • ，俭省。
    Suī rán shōu rù bù gāo, dàn tā yì zhí hěn jiǎn shěng.
    Although her income is not high, she has always been very thrifty.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

俭jiǎnfrugal
省shěngsaving

俭 means frugal and 省 means saving: thrift.

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 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 →

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

The upper part of 省 is a changed form of 生, which gave the sound, while the lower 目 is an eye; the picture showed looking closely or inspecting.

Open 省 →

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