scavenge for waste; collect scrap
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesverb
to scavenge; to collect discarded items (due to poverty or for recycling)
Originally carried a connotation of extreme poverty, but now also used neutrally or positively for environmental recycling work.
Nà那
wèi位
lǎo老
rén人
kào靠
shí拾
huāng荒
gōng供
sūn孙
zi子
shàng上
xué学
。
That elderly man relies on scavenging to pay for his grandson's schooling.
Shí拾
huāng荒
zhě者
bǎ把
jiǎn捡
lái来
de的
sù塑
liào料
píng瓶
mài卖
dào到
huí回
shōu收
zhàn站
。
The scavenger sold the picked-up plastic bottles to a recycling station.
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Wéi为
le了
jiǎn减
shǎo少
làng浪
fèi费
，
tā他
kāi开
shǐ始
zài在
xiǎo小
qū区
lǐ里
shí拾
huāng荒
。
To reduce waste, he started scavenging in his neighborhood.
Jiù旧
shè社
huì会
，
xǔ许
duō多
qióng穷
rén人
bù不
dé得
bù不
yǐ以
shí拾
huāng荒
wéi为
shēng生
。
In the old society, many poor people had to make a living by scavenging.