过日子 (guò rì zi) — to live one's life; to get along in daily life; to be economical; to practice thrift in household management
Definition
过日子 means 'to get along in daily life' — how a person or household manages everyday living, often with a sense of being careful with money (过日子/会过日子 = thrifty). It's separable: 过 + a time phrase + 日子.
verb
to live one's lifeto get along in daily lifeto be economicalto practice thrift in household management
Examples
- 过日子。Tā yí gè rén guò rì zi hěn bù róng yì.It's not easy for her to live alone.
- ，。Tā men guò le jǐ nián kǔ rì zi, xiàn zài zhōng yú hǎo qǐ lái le.They lived through a few hard years, and now things have finally gotten better.
- 过日子，。Tā hěn huì guò rì zi, cóng lái bú làng fèi qián.She is very thrifty and never wastes money.
Origin
Compound word构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object
An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.
过 means to pass or live through, and 日子 names the days, so the phrase means to live one's daily life.
Appears in
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