民不聊生

Traditional form:

民不聊生

Pinyin (reading):

mínbùliáoshēng

Definitions:

• The people have no way to make a living (idiom, from Record of the Grand Historian 史記／史记 ( Shǐjì))
• no way of getting by

Characters:

• 民 - citizens, subjects; a nation's people
• 不 - no, not, un-; negative prefix
• 聊 - somewhat, slightly, at least
• 生 - life, lifetime; birth; growth

Traditional characters:

• 民 - citizens, subjects; a nation's people
• 不 - no, not, un-; negative prefix
• 聊 - somewhat, slightly, at least
• 生 - life, lifetime; birth; growth