How do you say “I’m totally broke”?
“To be totally broke” | 出土 (chītǔ)
To say “I’m totally broke”, use this verb phrase to make fun of yourself or your friends:
吃土 (chītǔ) – to eat dirt
Example 1
👜 For example, imagine you want to buy a very expensive bag:
▪️ 我好想买那个包啊！
▪️ Wǒ hǎo xiǎng mǎi nà gè bāo a!
▪️ I really want to buy this bag
▪️ 但是买完之后就没钱了
▪️ Dànshì mǎiwán zhīhòu jiù méi qián le
▪️ But if I buy it, I won’t have any money left
▪️ 我就要吃土了
▪️ Wǒ jiù yào chītǔ le
▪️ I will have nothing left but to “eat dirt”
Example 2
💲 What is the happiest day of the month? Payday!
While some people try to save money, others happily spend most of their salary during the first few days and then live on instant noodles till next month. If you’re one of them, you can say:
▪️ 每个月发完工资高兴3天
▪️ Měi gè yuè fāwán gōngzī gāoxìng sān tiān
▪️ Every month once I get my salary, I’m happy for 3 days
▪️ 剩下的27天都要吃土了
▪️ Shèngxià de èrshíqī tiān dōu yào chītǔ le
▪️ And then, for the remaining 27 days, I have to “eat dirt“
Example 3: A JOKE
Now, here’s a Chinese joke for you to remember this phrase:
我和我妈妈说：“妈妈，我没钱了，又要吃土了”
Wǒ hé wǒ māma shuō, “Māmā, wǒ méi qián le, yòu yào chītǔ le”
I told my mom, “Mom, I’m out of money, I have to “eat dirt” again”
妈妈说：“这是好消息！因为土有的是！”
Māma shuō: “Zhè shì hǎo xiāoxi! Yīnwèi tǔ yǒu de shì!”
My mom replied, “This is great news! Because we have a lot of dirt!”
