ölmey-qalmay jaşarğa
/ølmej-qalmaj dʒaʃarʁa/
Literal translation
to live neither dying nor staying alive
Intended meaning
To support oneself only with great hardship; to get by on the edge of destitution.
- Aç-toq bola, saw üydegini asıraysız, ölmey-qalmay jaşaybız.Going hungry one day and fed the next, you keep a whole household; we scrape by barely alive.
Sources
Show sources
- Къарачай-малкъар тилни фразеология ангылатма сёзлюгю (2017), p. 164