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民生 (mín shēng) — people's livelihood; welfare of the people

Definition

Literary/political term for 'the people's livelihood' — how ordinary citizens live, earn, and are cared for by the state. Common in government reports, policy news, and formal writing, rarely used in daily conversation.

noun
people's livelihoodwelfare of the people
Easily confused

Examples

  • 民生。
    Tí gāo mín shēng shuǐ píng shì zhèng fǔ de zhòng yào rèn wu.
    Improving people's livelihood is an important task for the government.
  • 民生。
    mín shēng De gǎi shàn ràng rén mín gèng xìng fú.
    Improvements in people's livelihood make the people happier.
  • 民生。
    Zhè ge zhèng cè duì mín shēng yǒu hěn dà yǐng xiǎng.
    This policy has a big impact on people's livelihood.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

民mínpeople
生shēnglife/livelihood

民 (people) and 生 (life/livelihood) combine to mean people's 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.

Open 民 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Government & PoliticsSociety & Public Life

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