HanyuGuide logo HanyuGuide
Home Pricing
Tools
  • Chinese to Pinyin
  • Type Pinyin
  • HSK Quiz
Resources
  • Dictionary
  • Vocabulary Lists
  • Grammar Guides
Log in Sign up
Home Pricing
Tools
Chinese to Pinyin Type Pinyin
Log in Sign up
← Back to Dictionary

Fluency is built on habit.
Transform your learning.

Try HanyuGuide's novel active Spaced Repetition System.

Start 7-Day Free Trial
$9.99 / year
Lifetime for $19.99 Try demo first

看菜吃饭,量体裁衣

  • Download audio
  • License Info
  • Audio is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , building on the work of CC-CEDICT .

kàn cài chī fàn , liàng tǐ cái yī

Sign in to save this word to your study lists.

Definitions

  1. 1. lit. to eat depending on the dish, cut cloth according to the body (idiom)
  2. 2. fig. to act according to actual circumstances

Child Words of 看菜吃饭,量体裁衣

吃
chī

to eat

吃饭
chī fàn

to have a meal

看
kān

to look after

看
kàn

to see

菜
cài

dish (type of food)

裁
cái

to cut out (as a dress)

量
liáng

to measure

量
liàng

capacity

饭
fàn

cooked rice

看菜吃饭
kàn cài chī fàn

lit. to eat depending on the dish (idiom)

衣
yī

clothes

衣
yì

to dress

量体裁衣
liàng tǐ cái yī

lit. to cut cloth according to the body (idiom)

体
tǐ

body

体裁
tǐ cái

genre

HanyuGuide logo HanyuGuide

Built for serious Chinese learners on the principles of active recall and spaced repetition.

Contact Open Source
Platform
  • Vocabulary Lists
  • Dictionary
  • Grammar Guides
  • Tools
Programs
  • HSK Preparation
  • Schools & Institutions
  • Educators
  • Tutors
Legal
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
© 2026 HanyuGuide. All rights reserved.

"学而不思则罔,思而不学则殆"

Study without reflection is pointless; reflection without study is dangerous.