wages; salary (old usage)
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesnoun
wages; pay; salary (paid to shop assistants or farmhands in former times)
archaicRefers specifically to wages paid by shopkeepers or landlords to employees in pre-modern China. This term is now considered archaic or dialectal in most Mandarin-speaking regions, having been replaced by 工资 or 薪水 in modern contexts.
Nián年
dǐ底
le了
，
zhǎng掌
guì柜
de的
zhèng正
zài在
gěi给
huǒ伙
ji计
men们
jié结
suàn算
láo劳
jīn金
。
It was the end of the year, and the shopkeeper was settling wages with the clerks.
Nà那
shí时
hou候
zài在
dì地
zhǔ主
jiā家
káng扛
huó活
，
yī一
nián年
dào到
tóu头
yě也
jiù就
zhèng挣
nà那
me么
diǎn点
láo劳
jīn金
。
Back then working for the landlord, one only earned that little bit of wages after a whole year.
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Láo劳
jīn金
suī虽
rán然
bù不
duō多
，
dàn但
zǒng总
suàn算
néng能
yǎng养
huó活
yī一
jiā家
rén人
。
Although the wages weren't much, they were enough to support a family.