挣钱

zhèng qián

HSK 2.0 Level 5 Uncommon

Definitions

1 item

to lose money

挣钱 means to make money, 赔钱 means to lose money in business

2 items

to get rich

发财 means to get rich, related to the result of 挣钱

to struggle to get free

挣 as a standalone verb means to earn, used in other contexts like 挣分 (earn points)

1 item

to earn money

挣钱 is more informal, 赚钱 is slightly more formal; both mean to earn/make money

挣钱 is often used in the phrase 挣钱养家 (earn money to support the family).

Do not confuse 挣钱 (zhèng qián) with 争钱 (zhēng qián); the latter is not a standard word.

1 shown

他努力工作挣钱。

He works hard to earn money.

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

to struggle to get free

coin