Definition

1. Noun:
   • Livelihood, means of subsistence: Refers to the work, activities, or resources that provide for one's basic needs and living expenses. It often implies a focus on the essential, daily struggle to earn a living.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Anh ấy phải làm nhiều việc để kiếm kế sinh nhai. (He has to do many jobs to earn a livelihood.)
  • Công việc này là nguồn sinh nhai duy nhất của cả gia đình. (This job is the sole means of subsistence for the whole family.)
  • Lo cái sinh nhai hằng ngày đã đủ mệt. (Worrying about the daily livelihood is tiring enough.)

Advanced Usage

• The word "sinh nhai" is almost exclusively used in the fixed phrase "kế sinh nhai" (literally: plan/means for living and surviving). Using it alone is rare and highly literary.
  • Bà ấy bán hàng rong để có kế sinh nhai. (She sells street food to have a means of livelihood.)

Variants and Related Words

• Kế sinh nhai (n): The standard and most common compound, meaning "livelihood" or "means of earning a living."
  • Tìm kế sinh nhai mới ở thành phố. (To look for a new livelihood in the city.)
• Sinh sống (v): To live, to reside. This is the verb form related to the concept of making a life.
  • Gia đình tôi sinh sống ở đây đã ba đời. (My family has lived here for three generations.)
• Mưu sinh (v/n): To strive for a living; livelihood. Similar to "sinh nhai" but can be used as a verb and often carries a stronger connotation of hardship and struggle.
  • Ông ấy vào Nam mưu sinh. (He went to the South to seek a living.)

Synonyms

• Công ăn việc làm: Job, employment. (More neutral, focuses on having work.)
• Nguồn thu nhập: Source of income. (More formal, focuses on the financial aspect.)
• Phương kế sinh sống: Means of living. (A more elaborate synonym for "kế sinh nhai".)

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Kiếm kế sinh nhai / Mưu kế sinh nhai: To seek/strive for a livelihood. This is the primary verbal phrase used with this noun.
  • Họ phải kiếm kế sinh nhai bằng mọi cách. (They have to seek a livelihood by any means necessary.)
• Lo cơm áo gạo tiền / Chuyện cơm áo: (Idiom) The worries of making a living, the daily grind. This is a common idiom expressing the burden of securing basic necessities (food, clothing, money).
  • Vì chuyện cơm áo mà anh phải bỏ dở việc học. (Because of the worries of making a living, he had to quit his studies.)

1. Kế sinh nhai
2. Livelihood
   • Kiếm kế sinh nhai
     To look for a means of earning one's living