The character 活 — “live”: how to write it and what it means
live; alive
The Chinese character 活 is read huó and means “live; alive”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 活
活 has 9 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 活, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 活 is made of
On the left, 氵 “water”.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 活
- 生活life; liveHSK 3
- 活泼lively, energeticHSK 4
- 活动event; moveHSK 4
- 干活儿work, do a job (colloq.)HSK 4
- 灵活flexible, agileHSK 5
- 活力vitality, energyHSK 6
- 活跃active, lively; enlivenHSK 6
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 活?
活 has 9 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 活 mean?
活 means “live; alive”. It appears in 生活 (“life”), 活泼 (“lively”), 活动 (“event”), 干活儿 (“work”).
How do you pronounce 活?
活 is read huó. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 活 have?
9 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 活 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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