衣食父母 (yī) — those on whom one's livelihood depends (e.g., customers, patrons, supporters)
Definition
Literally 'food-and-clothing parents': not real parents, but the people who provide your livelihood (customers, patrons, audience). A formal, literary idiom used to emphasize how much you depend on them.
idiom
those on whom one's livelihood depends (e.g., customers, patrons, supporters)
Examples
- 衣食父母，。Gù kè jiù shì wǒ men de yī, yí dìng yào fú wù hǎo.Customers are our livelihood — we must serve them well.
- ，衣食父母。Zuò wéi yǎn yuán, guān zhòng jiù shì tā de yī.As an actor, the audience is his livelihood.
- 衣食父母，。Méi yǒu zhè xiē yī, gōng sī zǎo jiù dǎo bì le.Without these patrons, the company would have gone bankrupt long ago.
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