养家糊口

養家糊口

yǎngjiāhúkǒu

idiom

Meanings

1 to support one's family
2 to scrape together a living for one's household
3 to feed the family

Characters

to support; to raise

to plaster; (here) to fill

Examples

他一个人打两份工，就是为了养家糊口。

Tā yī gè rén dǎ liǎng fèn gōng, jiù shì wèile yǎngjiāhúkǒu.

He works two jobs alone just to support his family.

父亲常年在外打工，辛苦养家糊口。

Fùqīn chángnián zàiwài dǎgōng, xīnkǔ yǎngjiāhúkǒu.

His father works away from home year-round, toiling hard to feed the family.

这份工作虽然辛苦，但足够养家糊口。

Zhè fèn gōngzuò suīrán xīnkǔ, dàn zúgòu yǎngjiāhúkǒu.

This job is hard, but it's enough to put food on the family's table.

Tips

usage

Strong connotation of modest survival rather than prosperity — 糊口 literally means 'to paste the mouth', i.e. just enough to eat. Often paired with 辛苦 or 勉强 to emphasize hardship.

memory

养家 = support the family + 糊口 = (barely) feed the mouth. Together: just enough to keep everyone fed.

Stroke Order

养 yǎng

家 jiā

糊 hú

口 kǒu