Live on means to pay for everything you need with a certain amount of money, or to eat mainly one kind of food: live on a student loan, live on rice. It has another meaning too: “to continue to exist, not to be forgotten”. People say it about memories, ideas and traditions: His music lives on.
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live on + amount/income/food; enough to live on; memory/idea + live on
- During my first year in London, I lived on about £800 a month.
- When exams start, half of our group lives on coffee and sandwiches.
- Her grandfather died years ago, but his stories live on in the family.
What changed
First versionIn Berlin, 900 euros a month isn't enough to live.
RevisionIn Berlin, 900 euros a month isn't enough to live on.
At the end of a sentence, on can look unnecessary, so learners often drop it. But live on is an inseparable pair: it says what you live on, and on stays even when it is the last word in the sentence.
Live off is very close in meaning but often stresses whose money a person lives on: He's thirty and still lives off his parents. Live on usually just names the amount or the food.
Your turn
My flatmate can't cook, so most weeks he ___ instant noodles.
Show the answer
lives on — The flatmate eats almost nothing but noodles, so lives on. Sits on is not used for diets in English and would be understood literally: he is sitting on a packet of noodles.
Imagine you are moving to another city. Write how much money a month you could live on there and what you would be ready to save on.
I think I could live on 1,200 euros a month in Lisbon if I shared a flat and saved on eating out.
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