自己家都揭不开锅了
“His own family can barely put food on the table.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
“But it's not like he makes much on a fixed salary.”
自己 家 都 揭不开锅 了
“His own family can barely put food on the table.”
我嫂子几次提离婚
“My sister-in-law threatened”
Direct spoken expression in this communicative setting.
Traditional Chinese idioms frequently frame extreme poverty around the inability to cook or eat, reflecting historical sensitivities to food scarcity.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
unable to put food on the table; facing severe poverty
A vivid idiomatic expression used to describe dire financial hardship where a household literally cannot afford basic groceries.
Marks a change of state, emphasizing that conditions have deteriorated to this extreme point.
