Chinese word

乞讨

Pronunciation

Pinyinqǐ tǎo

Meaning

  • verbbeg

Example

他在街上乞讨。tā zài jiē shàng qí tǎo

He is begging on the street.

Illustration for 乞讨 (beg)

More examples

老人向路人乞讨，有人给了他一点钱。lǎo rén xiàng lù rén qí tǎo yǒu rén gěi le tā yì diǎn qián

An old man begged passersby, and someone gave him a little money.

Core concept

An open appeal that depends on another person's generosity to provide money, food, or other needed help.

Common phrases

  • 在街上乞讨zài jiē shàng qí tǎo

    beg in the street

  • 向路人乞讨xiàng lù rén qí tǎo

    beg passersby

  • 靠乞讨为生kào qí tǎo wéi shēng

    live by begging

Similar words

要饭yào fàn: Begging others for food to meet basic daily needs.
行乞xíng qǐ: Begging in public places for money or food.
讨饭tǎo fàn: Calling out to passersby to ask for food or money.

Definition in Chinese

向他人请求施舍以满足生活需要或临时困难的动作或状态。xiàng tā rén qǐng qiú shī shě yǐ mǎn zú shēng huó xū yào huò lín shí kùn nán de dòng zuò huò zhuàng tài

Word origin

乞讨 (qǐtǎo, "to beg") combines 乞 (qǐ, "to beg") and 讨 (tǎo, "to seek or ask for"), making the search for help from others clear.

Usage tips

  • English speakers may use beg for an urgent plea about an answer or favor, whereas this verb usually concerns material support in a real-life hardship context.

Other meanings

  • ask for somethingverb

Opposites

Related words

  • 乞讨者qí táo zhěbeggarnoun

Word lists with this word