famine year; lean year
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 2 examplesnoun
famine year; year of crop failure
dialectA regional dialect term, not part of standard Modern Standard Mandarin. Used specifically to refer to a year of poor harvest leading to scarcity and hunger.
Wǒ我
men们
lǎo老
jiā家
nà那
biān边
shuō说
“
nián年
jǐn谨
”
jiù就
shì是
liáng粮
shi食
bú不
gòu够
chī吃
de的
nián年
tóu头
。
In my hometown, when people say "niánjǐn," it means a year when there isn't enough food to eat.
Jiù旧
shè社
huì会
yào要
shì是
yù遇
dào到
nián年
jǐn谨
，
lǎo老
bǎi百
xìng姓
de的
rì日
zi子
jiù就
kǔ苦
le了
。
In the old society, if they encountered a famine year, life would be very hard for the common people.