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聊以卒岁
聊以卒岁
聊以卒岁
聊以卒岁
聊以卒岁
聊以卒岁
聊以卒岁
聊以卒岁

聊以卒岁 — “To barely manage to get through the year”

聊以卒岁 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to barely manage to get through the year”. To scrape by and see the year out. Literally, “barely to end the year”.

Frequency

聊以卒岁 Pronunciation and Pinyin

聊以卒岁 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order
CharacterPinyinStrokesMeaning
聊
liáo11chat, bored, slightly
以
yǐ5by means of
卒
zú8soldier, die, finish, finally
岁
suì6year or age

Example Sentence with 聊以卒岁

在收成不好的年份,农民们只能靠省吃俭用聊以卒岁。
In years of poor harvest, farmers can only scrape by through frugality to see the year out.

Origin and Story of 聊以卒岁

During the Spring and Autumn Period, intense power struggles occurred among the nobles of the Jin state. Fan Xuanzi (范宣子) banished his grandson Luan Ying (栾盈) and executed his confederate Yang Shehu (羊舌虎), subsequently imprisoning Yang Shehu's elder brother, Shuxiang (叔向).

Shuxiang, while incarcerated, considered himself fortunate to be able to live peacefully in confinement and merely 'manage to get through the year' (聊以卒岁).

Later, Grand Master Qi Xi (祁奚) persuaded Fan Xuanzi to appeal to Duke Ping of Jin (晋平公) on Shuxiang's behalf. As a result, Shuxiang was released and appointed as the Grand Tutor (太傅).

Idioms Related to 聊以卒岁

Synonyms of 聊以卒岁

  • dé得guò过qiě且guò过to muddle through, content with just getting by

More idioms starting with 聊

  • liáo聊yǐ以sè塞zé责to merely go through the motions
  • liáo聊yǐ以wèi慰jiè藉to find temporary solace
  • liáo聊yǐ以zì自yú娱to amuse oneself for a while
  • liáo聊yǐ以zì自wèi慰to find a small measure of comfort
  • liáo聊yǐ以jiě解cháo嘲make a self-deprecating remark to relieve embarrassment
  • liáo聊bèi备yī一gé格as a supplementary option
  • liáo聊fù复ěr尔ěr尔just for the sake of it
  • liáo聊fù复ěr尔ěr耳just for the time being
  • liáo聊shèng胜yī一chóu筹to be slightly better
  • liáo聊shèng胜yú于wú无Better than nothing
  • liáo聊biǎo表cùn寸xīn心a small token of my regard

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Questions about 聊以卒岁

What does 聊以卒岁 mean?

聊以卒岁 (liáo yǐ zú suì) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to barely manage to get through the year”.

How do you pronounce 聊以卒岁?

聊以卒岁 is pronounced liáo yǐ zú suì in Mandarin Chinese.

What does 聊以卒岁 literally mean?

Literally, 聊以卒岁 means “barely to end the year”. It is used to mean “to barely manage to get through the year”.

Where does 聊以卒岁 come from?

聊以卒岁 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.

What is the Chinese definition of 聊以卒岁?

聊:勉强;卒:终;岁:年。勉强地度过一年。

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