生儿育女
shēng ér yù nǚ
to have and bring up children
Character by character
生shēng
bear
bear
儿ér
sons
sons
育yù
raise
raise
女nǚ
daughters
daughters
Example
在大城市，生儿育女的成本越来越高，不少年轻夫妻一拖再拖。
In the big cities the cost of having and raising children keeps rising, and many young couples keep putting it off.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
儿 and 女 together mean children of either sex. Policy papers say 生育; 生儿育女 is the warmer, everyday phrase of features and conversation.
Learn this in Lesson 113 · HSK 7–9: 育儿补贴来了 (Livelihood news: the new childcare subsidy)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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