喝西北风 (hē xī běi fēng) — to have nothing to eat; to suffer from hunger and poverty
Definition
A vivid, humorous idiom meaning 'to go hungry / have nothing to eat,' literally 'drink the northwest wind.' Used in casual speech to complain about poverty or warn that someone will starve.
idiom
to have nothing to eatto suffer from hunger and poverty
Examples
- ，喝西北风。Yào shi zhǎo bú dào gōng zuò, wǒ men jiù dé hē xī běi fēng le.If we can't find a job, we'll have nothing to eat.
- ，喝西北风。Tā zhěng tiān yóu shǒu hào xián, zǒng yǒu yì tiān huì hē xī běi fēng.He loafs around all day; one day he'll have nothing to eat.
- ，喝西北风。Lián fàn dōu chī bù bǎo, zhēn de shì hē xī běi fēng a.Can't even get enough to eat — we're really starving.
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