民不聊生 (mín bù liáo shēng) — the people have no means of livelihood; extreme…

Definition

Idiom describing a people so destitute they cannot survive, typically under war, famine, or crisis. Read as a chengyu (四字成语), not word-by-word.

idiom

the people have no means of livelihoodextreme destitution and desperation

，民不聊生，。
Nà shí hou zhàn zhēng bú duàn, mín bù liáo shēng, bǎi xìng kǔ bù kān yán.
At that time, wars were incessant, the people were destitute, and the common folk suffered unspeakably.
，民不聊生，。
Jīng jì wēi jī dǎo zhì gōng chǎng dǎo bì, mín bù liáo shēng, shè huì dòng dàng bù ān.
The economic crisis led to factory closures, leaving the people with no means of survival and society in turmoil.
，民不聊生！
Kàn dào zhè xiē nàn mín de shēng huó, zhēn shì mín bù liáo shēng a!
Seeing the lives of these refugees, it's truly a situation where the people have no livelihood!

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The early form of 民 shows an eye pierced by a sharp cross-shaped implement, possibly linked to an injured or unclear eye.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

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

耳卯聊

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

卯

卯mǎo聊liáo

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

聊 shows 耳 (ear) beside 卯, which gives the sound. Its original meaning was tinnitus.

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.