<p>Both 挣钱 and 赚钱  can mean "to earn money"(by working) or " to make money"(by trading) </p>

<ul>
<li><p>赚钱 can refer to making tiny, modest or huge amount of money</p></li>
<li><p>挣钱 usually refer to making modest amount of money</p></li>
</ul>

<p>赚钱 can also be use as an adjective for "profitable" as in "赚钱的生意" (profitable business )</p>

<p>We cannot use 挣钱 as the adjective "profitable". There's no "挣钱的生意",  only "赚钱的生意"</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-06T05:24:35.483Z
I should say 挣钱 is not the adjective "profitable"
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-06T10:18:18.307Z
I see nothing wrong with "挣钱的生意".
dan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-06T04:50:21.220Z
2017-12-06T05:25:50.837Z
2017-12-06T05:25:50.837Z
Tang Ho
<p>There is no significant difference between 挣钱 and 赚钱.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2017-12-05T23:33:12.353Z
2021-01-12T07:32:07.253Z
2021-01-12T07:32:07.253Z
dan
<p>挣钱 because of 挣, has a feeling that you're making a living, it's something that you have to struggle to do.</p>
<p>赚钱 just means &quot;earn money&quot;. But nobody really cares about the difference.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-02-16T17:16:53.790Z
2021-02-16T17:16:53.790Z
Soroush
<p>I'd like to make a supplement based upon previous answers:</p>

<p>Usually, 挣钱 and 赚钱 are exactly the same. But in some special cases, 挣钱 could reflect a scenario of hard working, since making money is not easy, while 赚钱 could mean that making money is easy, compared with 挣钱. </p>

<p>Here, the verb 挣 sounds like you have to make great effort to, you can see the verb 挣扎, which means struggle. The verb 赚 means making a profit, it can also be used as an adjective.</p>

<p>So we have the following phrases: 努力挣钱，working hard to make money (though 努力赚钱 is also possible) and 躺着赚钱, making money while lying on the bed.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-06T10:28:17.847Z
I agree that 挣 reflects labor work, while 赚钱 is getting money from business. However, nowadays, 挣钱 and 赚钱 is interchangeable indeed. There isn't any difference between 努力挣钱 and 努力赚钱. 躺着赚钱==躺着挣钱.
dan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-06T12:17:29.843Z
@dan You're right, so I emphasized it is a special case. Nowadays, 挣大钱 == 赚大钱, 挣点小钱 == 赚点小钱. But the old days are really interesting to think about.
Tianjian Qin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-06T05:33:05.870Z
2017-12-06T05:43:10.573Z
2017-12-06T05:43:10.573Z
Tianjian Qin
<p>Today I went to a language exchange and a nice lady from Beijing told me to use 掙錢 instead of 賺錢。 I asked whether the latter was 口語 and she replied 賺錢 was something one said “just like that”. So now I am confused. </p>

<p>For 掙錢 pleco defines: earn (or make) money
For 賺錢 make money (or a profit)</p>

<p>The first one does sound a bit more like involving work, but I cannot really be sure of the distinction.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-05T21:02:59.107Z
see baidu：挣钱和赚钱有什么区别?最佳答案

挣钱是普通用语,指的是普通人用普通的方法获取一定量的新酬,在数量上有一定的限制。 赚钱是商业用语，指的是生意人用较高一点的方法获取更多的财富，数量不定。＆ more
user6065
<difference>
What is the difference between 賺錢 and 掙錢？
# What is the difference between 賺錢 and 掙錢？

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-12-05)

Today I went to a language exchange and a nice lady from Beijing told me to use 掙錢 instead of 賺錢。 I asked whether the latter was 口語 and she replied 賺錢 was something one said “just like that”. So now I am confused.

For 掙錢 pleco defines: earn (or make) money
For 賺錢 make money (or a profit)

The first one does sound a bit more like involving work, but I cannot really be sure of the distinction.

**Tags:** difference

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: see baidu：挣钱和赚钱有什么区别?最佳答案  挣钱是普通用语,指的是普通人用普通的方法获取一定量的新酬,在数量上有一定的限制。 赚钱是商业用语，指的是生意人用较高一点的方法获取更多的财富，数量不定。＆ more  

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## 4 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2017-12-06. Score: 7 | Accepted answer

I'd like to make a supplement based upon previous answers:

Usually, 挣钱 and 赚钱 are exactly the same. But in some special cases, 挣钱 could reflect a scenario of hard working, since making money is not easy, while 赚钱 could mean that making money is easy, compared with 挣钱.

Here, the verb 挣 sounds like you have to make great effort to, you can see the verb 挣扎, which means struggle. The verb 赚 means making a profit, it can also be used as an adjective.

So we have the following phrases: 努力挣钱，working hard to make money (though 努力赚钱 is also possible) and 躺着赚钱, making money while lying on the bed.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: I agree that 挣 reflects labor work, while 赚钱 is getting money from business. However, nowadays, 挣钱 and 赚钱 is interchangeable indeed. There isn't any difference between 努力挣钱 and 努力赚钱. 躺着赚钱==躺着挣钱.  
> **username_5**: @username_3 You're right, so I emphasized it is a special case. Nowadays, 挣大钱 == 赚大钱, 挣点小钱 == 赚点小钱. But the old days are really interesting to think about.  

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### Answer by username_2 on 2017-12-06. Score: 3

Both 挣钱 and 赚钱 can mean "to earn money"(by working) or " to make money"(by trading)

* 赚钱 can refer to making tiny, modest or huge amount of money
* 挣钱 usually refer to making modest amount of money

赚钱 can also be use as an adjective for "profitable" as in "赚钱的生意" (profitable business )

We cannot use 挣钱 as the adjective "profitable". There's no "挣钱的生意", only "赚钱的生意"

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: I should say 挣钱 is not the adjective "profitable"  
> **username_3**: I see nothing wrong with "挣钱的生意".  

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### Answer by username_3 on 2017-12-05. Score: 1

There is no significant difference between 挣钱 and 赚钱.


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### Answer by username_4 on 2021-02-16. Score: 0

挣钱 because of 挣, has a feeling that you're making a living, it's something that you have to struggle to do.

赚钱 just means "earn money". But nobody really cares about the difference.


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