noun
living on rice gruel; subsisting on thin rice porridge
Describes a state of poverty or austerity where one can only afford the simplest food, typically rice gruel. Often used in historical or literary contexts.
粥腹で日々をしのぐ生活だった。
It was a life of getting by on rice gruel day after day.
粥腹の苦しさをしのんで勉学に励んだ。
He endured the hardship of living on rice gruel and devoted himself to his studies.
Compound of 粥 (かゆ, 'rice gruel') and 腹 (はら, 'belly'), literally 'gruel belly', referring to a state where one's stomach is filled only with thin rice porridge.