生计 (shēng jì) — livelihood; means of making a living

Definition

noun

livelihoodmeans of making a living

生计。
Tā kào mài cài wéi chí shēng jì.
He makes a livelihood by selling vegetables.
。
Hěn duō rén wéi le móu shēng jì lí kāi jiā xiāng qù dà chéng shì dǎ gōng.
Many people leave their hometowns to go to big cities to work for a livelihood.
，生计。
Zài nà ge nián dài, rén men zhǐ néng kào zhòng dì jiě jué shēng jì.
In those days, people could only rely on farming to secure their livelihood.

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.

生 refers to life or living, and 计 means a plan or means; together they refer to what one relies on to live.

Characters in this word

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.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 計; 计 is its simplified writing.

言十計

The traditional form 計 pairs 言 (say) with 十 (all). The simplified 计 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical shape.

Appears in