noun
chaff and bran; plain food
Literally refers to poor-quality food made from chaff and bran; often used in the set phrase 糟糠の妻 (a wife who has shared hardships).
See also: 糟糠の妻
糟糠の妻は、貧しい時代を共にしたかけがえのない存在だ。
A wife who has shared hardships is an irreplaceable companion from poorer times.
糟糠の食をとるような暮らしだった。
We lived on plain food like chaff and bran.
noun
Archaic figurative use; something as worthless as chaff and bran. Rare in modern Japanese outside classical contexts.
古い文献では、糟糠を軽んじる表現が見られる。
In old texts, expressions that treat worthless things as chaff and bran can be found.
A set phrase meaning 'a wife who has shared poverty and hardship'; the most common modern context for 糟糠.
From Chinese, literally 'dregs and husks'. The figurative meanings derive from the idea of poor-quality food and, by extension, something of little value.