掏腰包 (tāo yāo bāo) — to pay out of one's own pocket; to foot the bill
Definition
Colloquial chengyu meaning to pay from one's own pocket, often for others or unexpectedly. Literally 'dig into the waist pouch' — vivid, spoken register, unlike plain 付钱.
phrase
to pay out of one's own pocketto foot the bill
Examples
- AA，掏腰包。Zhè cì lǚ xíng dà jiā AA zhì, bú yòng nǐ yí gè rén tāo yāo bāo.For this trip, everyone goes Dutch; you don't have to foot the bill alone.
- 掏腰包，。Tā měi cì jù huì dōu zhǔ dòng tāo yāo bāo, tè bié dà fāng.He always takes the initiative to pay at every gathering; he's very generous.
- ，掏腰包。Shǒu jī shuāi huài le, zhǐ hǎo zì jǐ tāo yāo bāo xiū le.The phone broke, so I had to pay out of my own pocket to get it repaired.
Origin
Compound word构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object
An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.
掏 means take out and 腰包 means waist pouch, so 掏腰包 is taking out from one's waist pouch, i.e. paying.
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