生 (shēng): to be born, to give birth, life
生 (shēng) is a Chinese character meaning “to be born.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 一 (structural) and 土 (structural). It ranks #34 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 生 A shoot 屮 growing in the soil 土. Its radical form 生 (life) appears in many related characters such as 甥 (shēng, (bound form) sister's son).
Definitions
- to be born
- to give birth
- life
Etymology & Origin
ideographic A shoot 屮 growing in the soil 土
Decomposition: ⿻一土 (layout: overlay)
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 生
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 先生noun | xiān sheng | teacher | 1 |
| 发生verb | fā shēng | to happen | 3 |
| 生活noun/verb | shēng huó | to live | 3 |
| 医生noun | yī shēng | doctor | 1 |
| 生命noun | shēng mìng | life (as the characteristic of living beings) | 4 |
| 生气verb | shēng qì | to get angry | 3 |
| 生日noun | shēng rì | birthday | 2 |
| 生意noun | shēng yì | life force | 4 |
| 学生noun | xué sheng | student | 1 |
| 人生noun | rén shēng | life (one's time on earth) | 4 |
| 一生noun | yī shēng | all one's life | 4 |
| 出生verb | chū shēng | to be born | 3 |
| 女生noun | nǚ shēng | schoolgirl | 3 |
| 产生verb | chǎn shēng | to arise | 4 |
| 生物noun | shēng wù | organism | 5 |
| 男生noun | nán shēng | schoolboy | 3 |
| 生存verb | shēng cún | to exist | 5 |
| 生病verb | shēng bìng | to fall ill | 1 |
| 生产verb | shēng chǎn | to produce | 5 |
| 陌生adjective | mò shēng | strange | 5 |
| 卫生adjective/noun | wèi shēng | hygienic | 4 |
| 卫生间noun | wèi shēng jiān | bathroom | 3 |
| 诞生verb | dàn shēng | to be born | 6 |
| 花生noun | huā shēng | peanut | 6 |
| 生长verb | shēng zhǎng | to grow | 5 |
| 大学生noun | dà xué shēng | university student | 1 |
| 再生verb | zài shēng | to be reborn | 6 |
| 野生adjective | yě shēng | wild | 6 |
| 毕业生noun | bì yè shēng | graduate | 4 |
| 生动adjective | shēng dòng | (of descriptions, writing etc) vivid | 5 |
| 研究生noun | yán jiū shēng | graduate student | 4 |
| 维生素noun | wéi shēng sù | vitamin | 6 |
| 生态noun | shēng tài | ecology (the study of interactions between organisms and their environment) | 6 |
| 生成verb | shēng chéng | to generate | 6 |
| 生命力noun | shēng mìng lì | vitality | 6 |
| 小学生noun | xiǎo xué shēng | primary school student | 1 |
| 中学生noun | zhōng xué shēng | middle-school student | 1 |
| 招生verb | zhāo shēng | to enroll new students | 6 |
| 师生noun | shī shēng | teachers and students | 4 |
| 留学生noun | liú xué shēng | student studying abroad | 3 |
| 考生noun | kǎo shēng | exam candidate | 4 |
| 生肖noun | shēng xiào | one of the twelve animals symbolic of the earthly branches 地支 | 5 |
生 appears in 161 compound words: 35 as the first character, 43 as the last, and 22 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 生 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (129)
half-cooked; underdone; underripe; not mastered; not skilled (of a technique)
lit. born in the morning and dying at dusk (idiom); fig. ephemeral; transient
lit. to feel the taste in one's mouth (idiom); fig. to water at the mouth; to drool in anticipation
from the cradle to the grave (idiom); to go through fire and water; brave; willing to risk life and limb
be moved by what one sees; memories revive at the sight of familiar places; the scene brings back memories
lit. born in the morning and dying at dusk (idiom); fig. ephemeral; transient
lit. to feel the taste in one's mouth (idiom); fig. to water at the mouth; to drool in anticipation
Showing 12 of 129 idioms containing 生.
Example Sentences
生字在日常生活中使用频率很高。
shēng zì zài rì cháng shēng huó zhōng shǐ yòng pín lǜ hěn gāo .
New words are used very frequently in daily life.
东南亚加里曼丹岛附近发生7级地震
dōng nán yà jiā lǐ 曼 dān dǎo fù jìn fā shēng 7 jí dì zhèn
A magnitude 7 earthquake occurred near the island of Kalimantan in Southeast Asia
老来有福!3生肖女“晚年命最好” 有人陪、有钱花、有话...
lǎo lái yǒu fú ! 3 shēng xiào nǚ wǎn nián mìng zuì hǎo yǒu rén péi , yǒu qián huā , yǒu huà . . .
Blessed in old age! 3 zodiac women "have the best life in their old age" Someone to accompany them, have money to spend, and have something to say...
订单爆了!90后男生春节可赚16万元
dìng dān bào le ! 9 0 hòu nán shēng chūn jié kě zhuàn 1 6 wàn yuán
The order is exploding! Post-90s boys can earn 160,000 yuan during the Spring Festival
上观时评|“马上”体祝福里的民生期盼·新世说
shàng guàn shí píng mǎ shàng tǐ zhù fú lǐ de mín shēng qī pàn xīn shì shuō
Shangguan Commentary|" Immediately, "the people's livelihood expectations in the blessing of the new world said
海报荐读|“马上”体祝福里的民生期盼;AI“灵魂附..
hǎi bào jiàn dòu mǎ shàng tǐ zhù fú lǐ de mín shēng qī pàn ; A I líng hún fù . .
Poster Recommendation|" Immediately, "feel the expectations of people's livelihood in the blessing; AI's "soul attachment:
那个学生跑得很快，不是吗？
Nèige xuésheng pǎo de hěn kuài, bù shì ma?
That student runs fast, doesn't he?
我应该去看医生吗？
Wǒ yīnggāi qù kàn yīshēng ma?
Shall I go for the doctor?
你记得了你父亲的生日吗？
Nǐ jìde le nǐ fùqin de shēngrì ma?
Did you remember your father's birthday?
小王，你是哪年生的？
Xiǎo Wáng, nǐ shì nǎ nián shēng de?
Wang, what year were you born?
Character Family
生 Radical Family — Characters sharing the life radical
Related Characters
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is 生 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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