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.
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.
Standard kanji spelling for this compound.
Mixed kana-kanji spelling sometimes seen.
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.