temporary shortage; gap between old and new
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesidiom
temporary shortage of resources; gap between the depletion of old supplies and the arrival of new ones
literaryOriginally referred to the agricultural gap between harvests when old grain was consumed but new crops were not yet ripe. Now widely used for any situation where resources, personnel, or supplies are temporarily unavailable or in transitional shortage.
Wǒ我
men们
gōng公
sī司
zhèng正
chǔ处
yú于
qīng青
huáng黄
bù不
jiē接
de的
jiē阶
duàn段
，
lǎo老
yuán员
gōng工
lí离
zhí职
le了
，
xīn新
yuán员
gōng工
hái还
méi没
zhāo招
dào到
。
Our company is in a transitional phase right now—old employees have left but new ones haven't been hired yet.
Zhè这
gè个
jì季
jié节
liáng粮
shi食
qīng青
huáng黄
bù不
jiē接
，
jià价
gé格
zì自
rán然
huì会
shàng上
zhǎng涨
。
During this season when there's a gap between grain harvests, prices naturally rise.
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Qiú球
duì队
xiàn现
zài在
qīng青
huáng黄
bù不
jiē接
，
lǎo老
jiàng将
tuì退
yì役
hòu后
méi没
yǒu有
yōu优
xiù秀
de的
nián年
qīng轻
xuǎn选
shǒu手
jiē接
bān班
。
The team currently faces a generational gap; after the veterans retired, there were no outstanding young players to take over.