饿着肚皮说笑话，穷开心餓著肚皮說笑話，窮開心餓着肚皮説笑話，窮開心

telling jokes on an empty stomach: poor-and-happy

Saying俗语俗語

Two-part saying歇后语歇後語 · Rarely used now

Meaning: Mocks someone who makes merry in the midst of hardship, in a way that seems out of place.
Wordplay: 穷开心 (qióng kāixīn) can be read as being cheerful while poor (穷, qióng) and as mocking cheerfulness that is pointless; the hungry joker fits both.

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Simplified: 饿着肚皮说笑话，穷开心
Traditional (Taiwan): 餓著肚皮說笑話，窮開心
Traditional (Hong Kong): 餓着肚皮説笑話，窮開心
Pinyin: èzhe dùpí shuōxiàohuà, qióng kāixīn
Bopomofo: ㄜˋ ˙ㄓㄜㄉㄨˋ ㄆㄧˊ ㄕㄨㄛㄒㄧㄠˋ ㄏㄨㄚˋ，ㄑㄩㄥˊ ㄎㄞㄒㄧㄣ

Written with HSK 5 vocabulary, at CEFR level B2.

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