lean years; hard times; famine months
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesnoun
lean years; hard times; period of scarcity between harvests
literaryA literary idiom describing times of poor harvest or the 'hungry gap' when the old grain is exhausted and the new crop is not yet ready. Often used to describe hardship in old society or rural poverty.
Jiù旧
shè社
huì会
měi每
dào到
huāng荒
shí时
bào暴
yuè月
，
pín贫
kǔ苦
nóng农
mín民
jiù就
zhǐ只
néng能
kào靠
yě野
cài菜
chōng充
jī饥
。
In the old society, whenever the lean months came, poor peasants could only rely on wild vegetables to fill their stomachs.
Nà那
shì是
huāng荒
shí时
bào暴
yuè月
，
cūn村
lǐ里
de的
rén人
jiā家
dōu都
méi没
yǒu有
yú余
liáng粮
。
Those were hard times, and no family in the village had surplus grain.
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Huāng荒
shí时
bào暴
yuè月
de的
jiān艰
nán难
suì岁
yuè月
ràng让
rén人
zhōng终
shēng生
nán难
wàng忘
。
The difficult years of lean times are unforgettable for a lifetime.