pittance

• Meaning: a small amount of money, a meager wage
  
• origin: old French pitance = allowance for monks or poor people; related to 'pity'
  
• In Hong Kong slang: 雞碎咁多
  
• In decent Chinese: 微薄
• Where we first met: BBC online forum on university lecturers' salary despute with employers - a lecturer describes what they receive as a pittance.