因陋就简
yīn lòu jiù jiǎn
to make do with whatever is at hand
Character by character
因yīn
follow
follow
陋lòu
crude
crude
就jiù
make do with
make do with
简jiǎn
simple
simple
Example
学校刚成立时没有实验室，老师们因陋就简，用饮料瓶和塑料管给学生做实验。
When the school first opened it had no laboratory, so the teachers made do, running experiments for the pupils with drinks bottles and plastic tubing.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
因 and 就 both mean “go along with”: work with poor, simple conditions as they are instead of waiting for better. Usually approving of thrift and resourcefulness, though it can also excuse cutting corners. Compare 简陋 (lesson 6-24), the adjective inside it.
Learn this in Lesson 241 · HSK 9+: 黄河大合唱 (The Yellow River Cantata)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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