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偷生 (tōu shēng) — to drag out an ignoble existence; to live on borrowed time (in a degrading way)

Definition

A literary/negative verb meaning to drag out a shameful, degrading existence — survive in name only. Pairs with 苟且 ('just get by') and is much stronger and more judgemental than simply 'live'.

verb
to drag out an ignoble existenceto live on borrowed time (in a degrading way)

Examples

  • ，偷生。
    Zài zhàn luàn zhōng, xǔ duō rén zhǐ néng gǒu qiě tōu shēng.
    During the war, many people could only drag out an ignoble existence.
  • ，偷生。
    Tā wèi le huó mìng, bù xī tōu shēng yú shì.
    To stay alive, he didn't hesitate to live a shameful life in the world.
  • ，。
    Tā zài dí guó tōu le jǐ nián shēng, zhōng yú děng dào le huí jiā de jī huì.
    He survived disgracefully in the enemy country for a few years, finally waiting for a chance to return home.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

偷tōusteal
生shēnglife

偷 means 'steal' or 'take improperly', and 生 means 'life'; together they suggest stealing a life, i.e. dragging out an ignoble existence.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
俞
俞yú偷tōu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 亻, a standing person, points to the idea of someone doing the act, while the right part 俞 gives the character its sound.

Open 偷 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Open 生 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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