精打细算

• Pinyin: jīng dǎ xì suàn
• Hanzi breakdown: 精 = 米 (rice) + 青 (blue/green), refined; 打 = hit, calculate; 细 = thread-like, fine; 算 = calculate

Meaning

To calculate carefully and budget meticulously; to be frugal and economical.

Describes careful planning and economical use of resources, whether money, time, or materials. Can be positive (praising thriftiness) or slightly negative (implying stinginess), depending on context. Often used for household budgeting or business cost control.

Examples

1. 妈妈精打细算过日子，硬是攒下了一套房子的首付。 Mom budgeted carefully and managed to save up a down payment for an apartment.
2. 公司要想度过这次危机，必须精打细算每一分钱。 If the company wants to survive this crisis, it must carefully budget every cent.
3. 他虽然收入不高，但精打细算，生活得还挺滋润。 Although his income isn't high, he budgets meticulously and lives quite comfortably.

Usage Guide

Context: finance, household, business

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 过日子还是得精打细算才行。(You really need to budget carefully to get by.)
• 她精打细算，一分钱掰成两半花。(She budgets so carefully she squeezes every penny.)

Don't Say

• 他对朋友也精打细算。(Avoid using this about interpersonal relationships — it sounds like you're calling someone cheap or calculative with friends)

Origin & History

A compound of 精打 (calculate precisely) and 细算 (count carefully). Both components emphasize meticulous calculation, creating a four-character idiom about careful resource management.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal