‘拮据’ (jié jū) is an adjective meaning 'financially strained' or 'hard up' — describing a situation where someone has very little money and struggles to meet basic expenses. Though the individual characters 拮 (jié) and 据 (jū) rarely appear alone with this meaning, together they form a fixed, classical compound that conveys tightness or scarcity of resources, especially money. The word carries a tone of quiet hardship rather than desperation; it’s often used in written Chinese and formal speech, though common in everyday conversation too.

This term frequently appears in contexts involving household budgets, student life, small-business challenges, or family discussions about affordability. It implies ongoing difficulty, not a one-time shortage — for example, paying rent while covering medical bills or tuition. Unlike colloquial terms like 手头紧 (shǒu tóu jǐn), 拮据 sounds slightly more refined and is often found in essays, news reports, and literature describing socioeconomic reality.