# 混日子, 我很混



## LOK

I am looking for an English tranlation of the Mandarin slang "混".

It means "being lazy", "not tough", "have no ambition", but still can get the life going smoothly...

It could be a verb, an adjective or an adverb, is commonly used in Taiwan.

Examples:
"我很混的在過日子。" (adv.)
"我大學時是個很混的人。" (adj.)
"他很會混，不諗書也可以升班。" (verb)

Thank your replies in advance!


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## BODYholic

At my work place, I called my workers who are there to 混日子 as skivers (n). Or they are just there to skive (v). ^_^"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skive


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## LOK

Oh, thank you!

I think "skive" 90% suits the original meaning in Mandarin!

By the way, when I googled, I found these 2 synonyms: shirker, slacker.

"混", in my sense, does not just mean "lazy", but "be lazy but skive smartly".


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## palomnik

It's only fair to point about that the word "skive" is totally unknown in the USA. While "shirker" and "slacker" are understood, they're not really slang expessions.

Probably the most common American expression would be "goof off", which can be used as either a noun or a verb.


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## char siu bao

In American English, perhaps particularly among the young, "slacker" is the most frequently used term.  However, as previously noted, "slacker" doesn't include an aspect of cleverness.  You'd have to add something else to make the listener understand the cleverness aspect.

"我很混的在過日子。" (adv.)  

I get by fine even though I don't work too hard.

"我大學時是個很混的人。" (adj.)

When I was in college, I was a total slacker [but I did well anyway].

"他很會混，不諗書也可以升班。" (verb)

He's such a slacker, [but even though] he doesn't study, he still advanced to the next class.

For the native Chinese speakers, could someone be both 混 and also be #1 in their class, or does it imply someone who does reasonably well, but not the very best?


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## avlee

混 doesn't necessarily include an aspect of cleverness in modern Chinese. 
Actually, something has to be added up to show this aspect in everyday Chinese.
混得不好： get by not very well. 混得好：get by fine.
Q:could someone be both 混 and also be #1 in their class
A:Exactly!
If the teacher and the guy are pals, (There're millions of ways to acquaintant yourself with teachers or authoritarians nowadays in China.) the guy can easily pass all exams and get full marks in most subjects. As known to all, people can be easily corrupted. #1 is seldom the goal of my generation. Money is. This is not sarcastic, it's the truth of current China society.


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## char siu bao

他很會混，不諗書也可以升班。

I think I was missing the nuance on this before.  Is the key point that he is able to depend on some outside factor (for example, his relationship with his teacher) to succeed even though his actual performance is not very good?  If this is the case, then "slacker" is not an appropriate translation at all.


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## samanthalee

I think for most part of the world, 混 has the meaning as mentioned by avlee in post #6. However, in Taiwan and places heavily influenced by Taiwan pop culture, 混 has evolved to mean "muddle through and still manage to make the grade".



char siu bao said:


> Is the key point that he is able to depend on some outside factor (for example, his relationship with his teacher) to succeed even though his actual performance is not very good?



I think "slacker" is a good translation, "goofing off" is a very close translation too. 混 doesn't carry the implication that "connections to influential parties" are involved.



char siu bao said:


> For the native Chinese speakers, could someone be both 混 and also be #1 in their class, or does it imply someone who does reasonably well, but not the very best?



If someone is always skiving and is still #1 in class, then 混 cannot be used to describe him. 混 implies that he made the grade, managed to graduate, and may or may not have done well.


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## BODYholic

samanthalee said:


> If someone is always skiving and is still #1 in class, then 混 cannot be used to describe him. 混 implies that he made the grade, managed to graduate, and may or may not have done well.



The radical meaning of  混 is "to mix" be it in its abstract or non-abstract form. And contrary to many, this is a neutral word just like "吃" and "喝".

Hence, we have phrases like "混得还不错" (to mean able to get by reasonable well) or "混不下去" (to mean can no longer sustain). 混 itself doesn't describe the comfort level.

An undergraduate can remain in his first year for 3 years (i.e. not promoting to second year for the last 3 years) and it is still legitimate to say that "He is there to *混日子*". 

The meaning of *混日子* is simple. Basically, it describes someone trying to get pass day by day (for whatever reasons, we do not know), be it in a workplace or educational institution. *混日子*has a slight detriment intent because of its non-contributing nature.

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Lok,
Be mindful, this one may have a different meaning.
"我大學時是個很混(4)的人。" (adj.)
"我大學時是個很混(2)的人。" (adj.)

Because 混(2), in some cases, is short for "混蛋". lol
If your intention is to say, you are good at getting by day-by-day during your Uni days, say "我大學時是個很*會*混(4)的人。" (但是很会混,不一定及格唷!)

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In secret society (but not limiting to), people who 能混 also means that they "吃得开".


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## LOK

Hi~ Lok is here again. Thanks all for insights for the word meaning of "混" in both Chinese and English!

My spoken language is Cantonese, second spoken language is Mandarin, and English is my foreign language.
I do not worry about the proficiency of my Chinese, since it is my first language. My aim of this post is to know more about English.



samanthalee said:


> 混 implies that he made the grade, managed to graduate, and may or may not have done well.



Concerning the meaning of "混",
What samanthalee said in the quoting above is what I believe and what English translation I am asking for, corresponding to "... but still can get the life going smoothly..." which I mentioned in the beginning. It does not imply good or bad grades.

The conclusion of this topic is that I have got what words to used in English for "混". Again, the precise meaing of "混" to me, and to my life, is not important. Thanks BODYholic!
By the way, you guys discuss like philosophers.

Thanks everyone again!


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## char siu bao

Lok, I'm glad you got the information you need.

Bodyholic -- at any rate, I am interested in everything you have to say about 混


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## SuperXW

以下句子中的"混"如何用英语表达呢？

他是很会在社会上混的人，在那边混得不错，做了好多大买卖。

这个"混"一般表示为人世故、圆滑，会利用机会获取好处。

好像之前有混字的问题，麻烦管理员合并了~


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## brofeelgood

混 = cope, manage, get by
很会混 or 混得不错 = cope well, manage well, thrive

In  modern English, the above words by themselves carry a slight notion  that things are developing on even terms or with some success. "I'll  cope" or "I'm getting by", without getting supplemented with adverbs  like "well" or "badly", would be taken as positive responses.

Would this be the same in Chinese? 

我觉得,单一个"混"字,不加任何的副词,不能一面倒解读为一个正面的动词. 例句里的"混"之所以表示为人世故,圆滑,会利用机会获取好处,无非是套上了"很会"和"不错"两组附加词.


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## SuperXW

brofeelgood said:


> 我觉得,单一个"混"字,不加任何的副词,不能一面倒解读为一个正面的动词. 例句里的"混"之所以表示为人世故,圆滑,会利用机会获取好处,无非是套上了"很会"和"不错"两组附加词.


謝謝！你說得很對。這個字不能脫離語境理解。只是若沒有“很會”“不錯”，那麼這個詞往往表示負面的意思，如“得過且過”。而即使一個人“很會得過且過”，也無法表示他“世故圓滑”。


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