📖 Meaning
Refers to coarse, simple, and unappetizing meals. It describes a diet of plain rice with pickled vegetables, signifying a frugal or impoverished lifestyle.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom has no specific literary origin recorded. The term "黄齑" refers to yellow pickled vegetables, a common coarse food in ancient China, while "白饭" is plain white rice. Together they paint a picture of the simple, meager fare typical of a poor or ascetic life. Such imagery was often used in classical literature to contrast humble living with worldly luxury.
💡 Example Usage
他在山中隐居多年，每日黄齑白饭，倒也过得清静自在。
He lived as a hermit in the mountains for years, subsisting on simple coarse fare day after day, yet lived a peaceful and carefree life.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 黄齑白饭
- Pinyin: huáng jī bái fàn
- Literal Translation: yellow pickle, white rice
- Category: Lifestyle
- Characters: 4