How common it is
挣 appears often in everyday Chinese, so it is worth practicing early and reviewing often.
Guest access
Guests can browse all words. Sign in or create an account to save progress and unlock more practice.
Pronunciation focus
Say zhèng slowly first, then repeat it in a short phrase. Listen for the tone shape.
Usage note
“挣”表示通过劳动或努力获得金钱或报酬，通常用于工作或付出后得到回报。
“Zhèng” biǎoshì tōngguò láodòng huò nǔlì huòdé jīnqián huò bàochóu, tōngcháng yòng yú gōngzuò huò fùchū hòu dédào huíbào.
“Earn” means to obtain money or reward through labor or effort, usually used for getting returns after work or contribution.
Context note
在日常生活中，“挣”常用来描述人们通过工作或做事情来赚钱，比如爸爸妈妈上班挣钱，或者小朋友通过做家务挣零花钱。
Zài rìcháng shēnghuó zhōng, “zhèng” cháng yònglái miáoshù rénmen tōngguò gōngzuò huò zuò shìqíng lái zhuàn qián, bǐrú bàba māma shàngbān zhèng qián, huòzhě xiǎo péngyǒu tōngguò zuò jiāwù zhèng línghuā qián.
In daily life, “earn” is often used to describe people making money through work or doing things, such as parents earning money by working, or children earning pocket money by doing chores.
5 examples
爸爸每天辛苦工作挣钱养家。
bà ba měi tiān xīn kǔ gōng zuò zhèng qián yǎng jiā。
Dad works hard every day to earn money to support the family.
我帮妈妈做家务挣零花钱。
wǒ bāng mā ma zuò jiā wù zhèng líng huā qián。
I help Mom with housework to earn pocket money.
他通过卖报纸挣了一些钱。
tā tōng guò mài bào zhǐ zhèng le yì xiē qián。
He earned some money by selling newspapers.
姐姐在暑假打工挣学费。
jiě jie zài shǔ jià dǎ gōng zhèng xué fèi。
My sister worked part-time during summer vacation to earn tuition.
我们卖旧玩具挣了二十元。
wǒ men mài jiù wán jù zhèng le èr shí yuán。
We earned twenty yuan by selling old toys.
5 mini stories
小明帮邻居浇花挣了五元钱。他很开心地存进了储蓄罐。
xiǎo míng bāng lín jū jiāo huā zhèng le wǔ yuán qián。 tā hěn kāi xīn dì cún jìn le chǔ xù guàn。
Xiao Ming earned five yuan by watering the neighbor's flowers. He happily put it into his piggy bank.
妈妈在超市工作挣钱。她每天都很认真。
mā ma zài chāo shì gōng zuò zhèng qián。 tā měi tiān dōu hěn rèn zhēn。
Mom works at the supermarket to earn money. She is very serious every day.
小红通过画画比赛挣了奖品。她非常自豪。
xiǎo hóng tōng guò huà huà bǐ sài zhèng le jiǎng pǐn。 tā fēi cháng zì háo。
Xiao Hong earned a prize through a drawing competition. She was very proud.
爸爸加班挣了加班费。他带我们去吃冰淇淋。
bà ba jiā bān zhèng le jiā bān fèi。 tā dài wǒ men qù chī bīng qí lín。
Dad earned overtime pay by working extra hours. He took us to eat ice cream.
我们卖手工饼干挣了钱。大家决定捐给动物收容所。
wǒ men mài shǒu gōng bǐng gān zhèng le qián。 dà jiā jué dìng juān gěi dòng wù shōu róng suǒ。
We earned money by selling handmade cookies. Everyone decided to donate it to the animal shelter.