How do you pronounce 民不聊生?

民不聊生 is pronounced mín bù liáo shēng in Mandarin Chinese.

What does 民不聊生 literally mean?

Literally, 民不聊生 means “the populace has no means to sustain life”. It is used to mean “the common people are in such extreme poverty and distress that they can hardly make a living or sustain themselves”.

Where does 民不聊生 come from?

民不聊生 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.

What is the Chinese definition of 民不聊生?

聊：依赖，凭借。指老百姓无以为生，活不下去。

民不聊生 — “The populace has no means to sustain life”

民不聊生 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “the common people are in such extreme poverty and distress that they can hardly make a living or sustain themselves”. Literally, “The populace has no means to sustain life”.

Frequency

民不聊生 Pronunciation and Pinyin

民mín
不bù
聊liáo
生shēng

民不聊生 Character Breakdown

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
民	mín	5	the common people
不	bù	4	not
聊	liáo	11	chat, bored, slightly
生	shēng	5	to be born, grow, or live

Example Sentence with 民不聊生

连年的自然灾害导致庄稼歉收，村子里的人们渐渐民不聊生。

Consecutive years of natural disasters resulted in poor harvests, and the villagers gradually found themselves in extreme destitution, unable to make a living.

Origin and Story of 民不聊生

Towards the end of the Warring States period, King Zhaoxiang of Qin dispatched General Bai Qi to attack the states of Han and Wei. Bai Qi annihilated their combined forces of 240,000 soldiers.

After this, Qin intended to attack the state of Chu, pretending to reconcile with Han and Wei.

Huang Xie, a noble from Chu, submitted a memorial to King Zhaoxiang, stating: 'You have brought such misery upon the people of Han and Wei that they are unable to live, and they hate you the most. If you were to borrow a path through Han and Wei to attack Chu, what would happen if their armies turned against you?'

Idioms Related to 民不聊生

Synonyms of 民不聊生

mín民qióng穷cái财jìn尽people and resources utterly depleted

Antonyms of 民不聊生

fēng丰yī衣zú足shí食ample food and clothing

More idioms starting with 民

Questions about 民不聊生

What does 民不聊生 mean?: 民不聊生 (mín bù liáo shēng) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “the common people are in such extreme poverty and distress that they can hardly make a living or sustain themselves”.
How do you pronounce 民不聊生?: 民不聊生 is pronounced mín bù liáo shēng in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 民不聊生 literally mean?: Literally, 民不聊生 means “the populace has no means to sustain life”. It is used to mean “the common people are in such extreme poverty and distress that they can hardly make a living or sustain themselves”.
Where does 民不聊生 come from?: 民不聊生 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 民不聊生?: 聊：依赖，凭借。指老百姓无以为生，活不下去。

Copy the pinyin for 民不聊生 →Choose tone marks or tone numbers and copy the complete four-character reading.Read Chinese vocabulary and idiom guides →Continue with words, phrases, and idioms explained through natural examples.