How to say “life” in Chinese
life (human)
“Life” in Chinese is 人生, rén shēng: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
人生 is read rén shēng: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
A picture of a walking person: two legs.
In 学生 it means “one who”: one who studies. It is read with the neutral tone: sheng.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “人生”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 人生. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 人生就像一次旅行。rénshēngjiùxiàngyícìlǚxíngLife is like a journey.
- 你觉得人生的意义是什么？nǐjuéderénshēngdeyìyìshìshénmeWhat do you think is the meaning of life?
- 婚姻是人生大事hūnyīnshìrénshēngdàshìMarriage is one of the big events in life.
- 人生不可能永远一帆风顺rénshēngbùkěnéngyǒngyuǎnyìfānfēngshùnIn life, things can't always go smoothly.
- 他很早就确立了人生的目标tāhěnzǎojiùquèlìlerénshēngdemùbiāoHe set his life goal very early.
More words from the lesson “A whole life”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “life” in Chinese?
“Life” in Chinese is 人生, pinyin rénshēng.
What does 人生 mean?
人生 (rénshēng) means “life (human)”.
How do you write 人生?
人生 is 2 characters: 人 (rén) — person; 生 (shēng) — be born, life. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 人生?
人生 is read rénshēng. Tones: rén — second tone, shēng — first tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“life” in the lesson “A whole life”
This word is from the topic “Family and loved ones” of HSK 4. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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