A Modest Proposal: For preventing the children of poor people in Ireland, from being a burden on their parents or country, and for making them beneficial to the publick — Page 1

Vocabulary

一个

yī gè — One; a single unit or item.

温和

wēn hé — Gentle, mild, moderate in manner or climate.

的

de — Structural particle indicating possession or modification.

建议

jiàn yì — Suggestion or proposal; to recommend something.

为

wèi — For the purpose of; on behalf of.

防止

fáng zhǐ — To prevent or guard against something happening.

爱尔兰

Ài ěr lán — Ireland; the island nation in northwestern Europe.

穷人

qióng rén — Poor people; those lacking financial resources.

孩子

hái zi — Child or children; young offspring.

成为

chéng wéi — To become; to turn into something.

其

qí — His, her, its, their; a formal possessive pronoun.

父母

fù mǔ — Parents; father and mother together.

或

huò — Or; alternatively; either one option or another.

国家

guó jiā — Nation or country; a sovereign state.

负担

fù dān — Burden or load; financial or emotional strain.

并

bìng — And; moreover; simultaneously performing two actions.

使

shǐ — To cause or make; to enable something to happen.

他们

tā men — They or them; third-person plural pronoun.

对

duì — Toward; regarding; in relation to something.

公众

gōng zhòng — The general public; society at large.

有益

yǒu yì — Beneficial or useful; having a positive effect.

博士

bó shì — Doctor; a person holding the highest academic degree.

著

zhù — Written or authored by; to compose a work.

年

nián — Year; a unit of time equal to twelve months.

对于

duì yú — Regarding; with respect to a topic or person.

那些

nà xiē — Those; referring to a group of things or people.

穿行

chuān xíng — To pass through; to travel across a place.

于

yú — In, at, from; a formal preposition of location.

这座

zhè zuò — This; classifier for large structures like cities.

大

dà — Big or large; great in size or importance.

城市

chéng shì — City or urban area; a large populated settlement.

游历

yóu lì — To travel and tour; journeying through various places.

乡间

xiāng jiān — Countryside; rural areas outside of the city.

人

rén — Person or people; a human being.

来说

lái shuō — Speaking from a perspective; as far as concerned.

当

dāng — When; at the time that something occurs.

看到

kàn dào — To see; to catch sight of something.

街道

jiē dào — Street or road; a public thoroughfare in a city.

道路

dào lù — Road or path; a route for travel or transportation.

和

hé — And; connecting two or more nouns together.

茅屋

máo wū — Thatched cottage; a small humble rural dwelling.

门口

mén kǒu — Doorway or entrance; the area at a door.

挤满

jǐ mǎn — Crowded or packed full; filled to capacity.

了

le — Particle indicating completed action or changed state.

女

nǚ — Female; woman or girl; feminine gender.

乞丐

qǐ gài — Beggar; a person who begs for money or food.

身后

shēn hòu — Behind one's body; following closely after someone.

跟着

gēn zhe — Following behind; trailing after someone or something.

三四

sān sì — Three or four; an approximate small number.

个

gè — General measure word for people or objects.

乃至

nǎi zhì — Even up to; ranging as far as a number.

六个

liù gè — Six; a quantity of six individual items.

衣衫褴褛

yī shān lán lǚ — Dressed in rags; wearing torn and tattered clothing.

向

xiàng — Toward; facing or directed at someone or something.

每一位

měi yī wèi — Every single person; each individual passerby.

过路人

guò lù rén — Passerby; a person walking past on the street.

乞讨

qǐ tǎo — To beg; to ask strangers for money or food.

施舍

shī shě — Charity or alms; giving something to the needy.

这

zhè — This; a demonstrative pronoun for nearby things.

实在

shí zài — Indeed, truly; genuinely or honestly so.

是

shì — To be; linking subject and predicate.

一幅

yī fú — One; classifier for paintings, scenes, or images.

令人

lìng rén — Causing people to feel; making one experience emotion.

忧郁

yōu yù — Melancholy or gloomy; feeling sad and depressed.

景象

jǐng xiàng — Scene or sight; a visual spectacle or picture.

这些

zhè xiē — These; referring to multiple nearby things or people.

母亲

mǔ qīn — Mother; a female parent.

非但

fēi dàn — Not only; used to introduce a negative contrast.

不能

bù néng — Cannot; being unable to do something.

凭

píng — By relying on; based on or through means of.

诚实

chéng shí — Honest and truthful; sincere in character.

劳动

láo dòng — Labor or work; physical effort to earn a living.

谋生

móu shēng — To make a living; earning enough to survive.

反而

fǎn ér — On the contrary; instead producing the opposite result.

被迫

bèi pò — Forced or compelled; made to do something unwillingly.

将

jiāng — To; about to; used before a verb formally.

全部

quán bù — All; the entirety of something without exception.

时间

shí jiān — Time; a period or duration of moments.

用于

yòng yú — Used for; applied to a particular purpose.

四处

sì chù — Everywhere; all around in every direction.

流浪

liú làng — To wander or roam; living without a fixed home.

以

yǐ — In order to; so as to achieve a purpose.

养活

yǎng huó — To support financially; to feed and sustain life.

她们

tā men — They or them; third-person plural feminine pronoun.

无依无靠

wú yī wú kào — Without support or backing; completely helpless and alone.

婴孩

yīng hái — Infant or baby; a very young child.

长大

zhǎng dà — To grow up; to mature from child to adult.

后

hòu — After; following in time or sequence.

要么

yào me — Either...or; presenting two possible alternatives.

因

yīn — Because of; due to a cause or reason.

找不到

zhǎo bu dào — Unable to find; failing to locate something.

工作

gōng zuò — Work or job; employment or an occupation.

而

ér — And then; as a result; connecting clauses.

沦为

lún wéi — To sink into; to degenerate into a lower status.

盗贼

dào zéi — Thief or robber; one who steals from others.

背井离乡

bèi jǐng lí xiāng — To leave one's homeland; forced to abandon home.

远赴

yuǎn fù — To travel far to; to go a great distance.

西班牙

Xī bān yá — Spain; the country in southwestern Europe.

觊觎

jì yú — To covet or harbor ambitions for; desire greedily.

王位

wáng wèi — The throne; the position of a king or ruler.

者

zhě — Suffix meaning 'one who'; a person doing something.

卖命

mài mìng — To risk one's life; to work for someone recklessly.

或者

huò zhě — Or; presenting an alternative option or choice.

卖身

mài shēn — To sell oneself; to indenture oneself for money.

去

qù — To go; to travel to a place.

我

wǒ — I or me; first-person singular pronoun.

想

xiǎng — To think or believe; to suppose something is true.

各方

gè fāng — All sides or parties; every relevant group involved.

均

jūn — All; without exception; equally applies to everyone.

会

huì — Will; able to; expressing likelihood or ability.

同意

tóng yì — To agree; to consent to a proposal or idea.

在

zài — At, in, on; indicating location or ongoing action.

王国

wáng guó — Kingdom; a country ruled by a king or queen.

目前

mù qián — Currently; at the present moment in time.

这种

zhè zhǒng — This kind or type; this sort of thing.

悲惨

bēi cǎn — Miserable or tragic; extremely sad and wretched.

状况

zhuàng kuàng — Condition or situation; the current state of affairs.

下

xià — Under or below; in a given condition or context.

被

bèi — Passive marker; indicates the subject receives the action.

抱

bào — To hold or carry in arms; to embrace someone.

父亲

fù qīn — Father; a male parent.

怀中

huái zhōng — In one's arms or bosom; held close to the chest.

背

bēi — To carry on one's back; to bear a load.

背上

bèi shàng — On one's back; carried upon the dorsal side.

跟

gēn — To follow; with; accompanying someone closely.

脚跟

jiǎo gēn — Heel of the foot; following at someone's heels.

数量

shù liàng — Quantity or amount; the number of something.

惊人

jīng rén — Astonishing or startling; surprising in degree or scale.

实为

shí wéi — Is actually; truly constitutes something formal usage.

一大

yī dà — A great; one large instance of something notable.

额外

é wài — Extra or additional; beyond the normal amount expected.

因此

yīn cǐ — Therefore; as a result of what was mentioned.

无论

wú lùn — No matter; regardless of the conditions presented.

何人

hé rén — Whoever; any person whatsoever in formal usage.

若能

ruò néng — If able to; should one be capable of doing.

找到

zhǎo dào — To find; to successfully locate something sought.

一种

yī zhǒng — One kind or type; a single sort of method.

公平

gōng píng — Fair or just; treating all parties equally.

廉价

lián jià — Cheap or inexpensive; costing very little money.

简便

jiǎn biàn — Simple and convenient; easy to apply or use.

方法

fāng fǎ — Method or approach; a way of doing something.

健全

jiàn quán — Sound and complete; healthy and well-functioning.

有用

yǒu yòng — Useful; serving a practical purpose or function.

成员

chéng yuán — Member; a person belonging to a group or society.

之

zhī — Formal possessive particle; equivalent to 的 in writing.

贡献

gòng xiàn — Contribution; something given to help a common cause.

将是

jiāng shì — Will be; expressing a future state or outcome.

如此

rú cǐ — Such; so great; to this extent or degree.

之大

zhī dà — So great; of such magnitude in formal expression.

理应

lǐ yīng — Ought to; should rightfully by reason or principle.

为其

wèi qí — For him or her; on that person's behalf formally.

树立

shù lì — To establish or erect; to set up as a model.

雕像

diāo xiàng — Statue; a sculpted three-dimensional figure or monument.

奉为

fèng wéi — To revere as; to honor someone as a title.

守护者

shǒu hù zhě — Guardian or protector; one who watches over others.