缺衣少食

yǒu xiē rén kě néng lǐ cái bù shàn yīn ér bù dé bù quē yī shǎo shí dì jiāng jiu guò huó

有些人可能理财不善，因而不得不缺衣少食地将就过活。

Some people may manage their finances badly and therefore have to go short of essentials.

shàng shì jì wǔ shí nián dài dì chǔ zhōng guó xī nán de sì chuān shěng de liú jiā guò zhe quē yī shǎo shí de shēng huó tā men shèn zhì jiāng sān ér zi sòng gěi le yī hù xìng chén de rén jiā bào yǎng

上世纪五十年代，地处中国西南的四川省的刘家过着缺衣少食的生活，他们甚至将三儿子送给了一户姓陈的人家抱养。

In the1950s, the Liu family of southwest China's Sichuan province was so short of food, they even sent one of their youngest sons to be raised by another family.