subsistence
subsistence — noun
1. a condition of living on the smallest amount of food, money, and other necessiti
a condition of living on the smallest amount of food, money, and other necessities that a person requires to stay alive, without any extras or comforts
After the factory closed, the Chen family could only afford a life of bare subsistence.
collocation: bare subsistence
Subsistence farmers in northern Laos grow just enough rice to feed their own households.
compound: subsistence farmers
After the drought destroyed her crops, Kemi could barely afford a subsistence diet of rice and cabbage — nothing else.
Maeve worked seventy hours a week on subsistence wages, earning just enough for rent, rice, and bus fare.
Pedro's grandparents lived at subsistence level, owning only a few cooking pots and blankets.
- bare existence
more literary, emphasises the quality of life
- survival
broader — includes safety from danger, not just material needs
用法筆記
Frequently used as a modifier before nouns: subsistence farmer, subsistence wage, subsistence level. This sense describes a state of having only the bare essentials, not the resources themselves.
常見錯誤
2. the minimum amount of food, money, or other resources that a person needs to con
the minimum amount of food, money, or other resources that a person needs to continue living, especially in difficult conditions
For fishing families on Emre's island, the daily catch is their only subsistence — idle boats mean empty bowls.
pattern: [someone's] only subsistence
Hari scraped together a meager subsistence by repairing bicycles at the local market.
The monthly payment was barely enough for Takeshi's subsistence, with nothing left for warm clothes.
After the flood, the villagers lost their crops, their livestock, and their well — every basic means of subsistence was gone.
Bao's family earns their subsistence from selling herbs at the roadside market.
- livelihood
more specific to how one earns money through work
- sustenance
more formal, emphasises food and nourishment
- necessities
broader — may include items beyond the bare minimum
- starvation
extreme suffering or death from lack of food
- destitution
complete lack of resources, worse than subsistence
用法筆記
Often appears with possessive determiners or the preposition 'of': one's subsistence, means of subsistence, basis of subsistence. This sense focuses on the material resources themselves, not the condition of minimal living.