Definition
闹饥荒 literally means 'to suffer from famine' — a verb-object compound (离合词) where 闹 and 饥荒 can split: 闹了一场饥荒 ('went through a famine'). In colloquial speech, it's also used figuratively to mean 'to be hard up' or 'to be short of money', similar to saying 'we're starving for cash' in English. When used figuratively, the splitting pattern still applies: 闹了好一阵子饥荒 ('went through a rough patch financially').
v.o.
to suffer from famine(colloquial) to be hard upto be short of money
Examples
- 闹饥荒。Nà nián běifāng hěn duō dìfang dōu nào jī huāng le.That year, many places in the north suffered from famine.
- ，。Zhège cūnzi nào guò jǐ cì jīhuāng, hòulái cái mànmàn hǎo qǐlai.This village went through several famines before gradually getting better.
- ，。Zuìjìn shǒutóu jǐn, yòu zài nào jīhuāng le.I'm tight on cash lately — I'm hard up again.
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.