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苟且偷生

gǒu qiě tōu shēngdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
to drift and live without purpose (idiom) / to drag out an ignoble existence
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-874c8c68383fbd73. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

苟且偷生 苟且偷生 [gou3 qie3 tou1 sheng1] /to drift and live without purpose (idiom); to drag out an ignoble existence/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

  • 苟
    gǒu

    (literary) if indeed / (bound form) careless / negligent / (bound form) temporarily

    Gǒu

    surname Gou

  • 且
    qiě

    and / moreover / yet / for the time being / to be about to / both (... and...)

  • 偷
    tōu

    to steal / (bound form) thief / (bound form) secretly / on the sly

  • 生
    shēng

    to grow / to give birth / to produce / to be born / to arise / to occur / to light (a fire) / to live / to be alive / life / raw / uncooked / unprocessed / unfamiliar / strange / (bound form) student / person engaged in a field / (bound form) male role in traditional opera / (bound form) life / lifetime / (bound form) means of livelihood / (bound form) very / intensely (as in 生疼[shēng téng]) / (bound form) in a forced manner (as in 生拉硬拽[shēng lā yìng zhuài])

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.