欠了一屁股债垒起来的
“pinching every penny for it.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
这房子是我跟你姐 省吃俭用
“Your sister and I worked so hard,”
欠了 一屁股债 垒 起来 的
“pinching every penny for it.”
“But you paid off all those debts, didn't you? Otherwise, how could you have”
“Do not treat this house lightly; we suffered deeply and took huge financial risks to get it.”
Buying real estate in China often requires collective family frugality and borrowing from extended networks, giving property discussions heavy emotional weight.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
in debt up to one's ears; deeply in debt
A highly colloquial and vivid idiom used in spoken Chinese to describe overwhelming financial debt.
built up step by step; piled up
Used metaphorically here to describe accumulating assets or burdens through gradual, strenuous effort.
Functions as part of the 'shi... de' construction emphasizing the arduous manner in which the house was acquired.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“He racked up a huge debt,”
“and had run up massive debts.”
“owing so much money?”
“so I'd owe him a big debt.”
“What does he mean I owe a ton of debt?”
“I'm deep in debt and have no idea how to pay it back. If something else happens, I'll be helpless.”