toil for a living; be swamped with work
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
2 senses · 5 examplesverb
to bustle about trying to make a living
archaicOriginally referred to the hard labor of poor people struggling to survive. Often implies working hard but remaining poor.
Jiù旧
shè社
huì会
，
qióng穷
rén人
měi每
tiān天
qióng穷
máng忙
，
què却
nán难
yǐ以
hú糊
kǒu口
。
In the old society, poor people toiled daily but could hardly make ends meet.
Tā他
yí一
bèi辈
zi子
qióng穷
máng忙
，
dào到
tóu头
lái来
hái还
shì是
méi没
zǎn攒
xià下
shén什
me么
qián钱
。
He worked hard his whole life but ended up saving almost nothing.
verb
to be extremely busy with complicated affairs; to be swamped
Modern usage describing being overwhelmed with trivial or complex tasks, often implying busyness without productive results.
Zuì最
jìn近
gōng工
zuò作
tè特
bié别
duō多
，
zhěng整
tiān天
qióng穷
máng忙
，
què却
méi没
shén什
me么
chéng成
guǒ果
。
Work has been especially heavy lately; I have been swamped all day with little to show for it.
Bié别
zhěng整
tiān天
qióng穷
máng忙
le了
，
hái还
shì是
jìng静
xià下
xīn心
lái来
xiǎng想
xiǎng想
bàn办
fǎ法
ba吧
。
Stop being so chaotically busy; calm down and think of a proper solution.
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Tā他
kàn看
qǐ起
lái来
zhěng整
tiān天
qióng穷
máng忙
，
qí其
shí实
xiào效
lǜ率
hěn很
dī低
。
He appears to be busy all day, but actually his efficiency is very low.