subsistence
subsistence — 名詞
1. a condition of living on the smallest amount of food, money, and other necessiti
勉強度日
僅有最低生存需求的狀態
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.
工廠關閉後，陳家只能靠勉強度日的生活維生。
collocation: bare subsistence
Subsistence farmers in northern Laos grow just enough rice to feed their own households.
寮國北部的自給農民種植的稻米僅夠養活自家人。
compound: subsistence farmers
After the drought destroyed her crops, Kemi could barely afford a subsistence diet of rice and cabbage — nothing else.
乾旱摧毀了她的農作物之後，Kemi 只勉強吃得起米飯和高麗菜——沒有任何其他東西。
Maeve worked seventy hours a week on subsistence wages, earning just enough for rent, rice, and bus fare.
Maeve 每週工作七十小時，領著僅夠糊口的工資，收入只夠付房租、買米和搭公車。
Pedro's grandparents lived at subsistence level, owning only a few cooking pots and blankets.
Pedro 的祖父母生活在勉強糊口的水平，僅有幾個鍋子和毯子。
- 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
生計
維持基本生存的資源
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.
對 Emre 島上的漁業家庭來說，每天的漁獲是他們唯一的維生來源——不出海就沒飯吃。
pattern: [someone's] only subsistence
Hari scraped together a meager subsistence by repairing bicycles at the local market.
Hari 靠在市場修理腳踏車勉強維持生計。
The monthly payment was barely enough for Takeshi's subsistence, with nothing left for warm clothes.
每月給付的錢僅夠 Takeshi 維持生計，根本沒錢買保暖衣物。
After the flood, the villagers lost their crops, their livestock, and their well — every basic means of subsistence was gone.
洪水過後，村民失去了農作物、牲畜和水井——所有基本的維生手段都沒了。
Bao's family earns their subsistence from selling herbs at the roadside market.
Bao 一家人在路邊市場賣草藥來維持生計。
- 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.