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French Expression
| Meaning | to live hand to mouth; to live from day to day | |
| Literally | to live on the day the day | |
| Register | normal | |
| Pronunciation |  |
[veev roh zhour l(e) zhour] |
| IPA | [viv ʁo ʒuʁ lə ʒuɾ] | |
Usage notes: The French expression vivre au jour le jour refers to having only enough money to satisfy one’s immediate needs: to live (from) hand to mouth, to not know where one’s next meal is coming from.
Par exemple…
| Depuis que j’ai perdu mon emploi, je vis au jour le jour. | Since I lost my job, I’ve been living hand to mouth. | |
| Il y a trop de gens dans le monde qui vivent au jour le jour. | There are too many people in the world who don’t know where their next meal is coming from. |
Synonymous expressions
- vivre dans la précarité
informal
- être à sec
- être déplumé
- être désargenté
- être fauché
- être sans un sou
familiar - être raide
- être rétamé
Vivre au jour le jour can also be used to talk about someone who lives for the moment and doesn’t set anything aside for the future (whether or not they can afford to).
Somewhat synonymous
- vivre l’instant
- vivre le présent
Related lessons
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