养活

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Character Breakdown

Meaning and Usage

The verb 养活 (yǎnghuo) primarily means "to support" or "to provide for" someone financially or materially, often referring to sustaining a family or oneself. It implies the ability to cover living expenses and maintain life.

Common Contexts

It is frequently used when talking about supporting family members, oneself, or employees. For example, "养活" means "to support the whole family." It often appears in contexts discussing financial hardship or responsibility.

Collocations and Patterns

  • 养活: to support the entire family, used when emphasizing sole financial responsibility.
  • 养活自己: to support oneself, highlighting independence.
  • 养活: cannot support, indicating insufficiency of income or resources.

Usage Notes

养活 usually refers to the practical aspect of providing for living needs, such as food, shelter, and basic expenses. It is more concrete than abstract notions of care or love. Avoid confusing it with 养育, which focuses more on raising or nurturing children emotionally and physically.

The word is often used in spoken and written Chinese when discussing economic or social issues related to livelihood.

Example Sentences

He supports the whole family by himself; it's very hard.

This job can't support him; he needs to find a second one.

Supporting oneself is everyone's responsibility.