三旬九食

Traditional form:

三旬九食

Pinyin (reading):

sānxúnjiǔshí

Definitions:

• lit. to have only nine meals in thirty days (idiom)
• fig. (of a family) on the brink of starvation
• in dire straits

Characters:

• 三 - three
• 旬 - ten-day period; period of time
• 九 - nine
• 食 - food; to eat

Traditional characters:

• 三 - three
• 旬 - ten-day period; period of time
• 九 - nine
• 食 - food; to eat