Chat attack

livelihood

生计

(shēnɡjì) 

A: Why is it that even though I went to a good college and work hard, I'm still barely making a livelihood? Life is too hard. 

为什么明明上了好大学,认真工作,还是要天天为生计奔波？生活太难了。

(wèishénme mínɡmínɡ shànɡle hǎodàxué, rènzhēn ɡōnɡzuò, háishì yào tiāntiān wèi shēnɡjì bēnbō? shēnɡhuó tàinán le.) 

B: May I ask? What do you mean by "livelihood?"

冒昧地问一下,"生计"指的是？

(màomèi de wèn yīxià, "shēnɡjì" zhǐde shì?)

A: Well, you see, I have to go without hungry for three months just to by a limited edition Chanel purse. Also, I just bought a classic edition from another company and then they came out with a crossover edition.

你看,我得三个月不吃不喝才能买下香奈儿的那款限量包包。还有,我刚刚买了它家的经典款,结果,立刻就出了联名款。

(nǐkàn, wǒ déi sān ɡè yuè bùchī bùhē cái nénɡ mǎixià xiānɡnàiér de nàkuǎn xiànliànɡ bāobāo. háiyǒu, wǒ ɡānɡɡānɡ mǎi le tājiā de jīnɡdiǎnkuǎn, jiéɡuǒ, lìkè jiù chū le liánmínɡkuǎn.)

B: Young lady, wake up. You still haven't paid off last month's loan.

大小姐,醒醒。你上个月的花呗还没还完呢。

(dàxiǎojiě, xǐnɡxǐnɡ. nǐ shànɡɡèyuè de huābei háiméi huán wán ne.)

Illustration: Xia Qing/GT