How to say “life” in Chinese
life; live
“Life” in Chinese is 生活, shēng huó: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
生活 is read shēng huó: 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
In 学生 it means “one who”: one who studies. It is read with the neutral tone: sheng.
On the left, 氵 “water”.
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 “生活”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 生活. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 我很喜欢这儿的生活。wǒhěnxǐhuanzhèrdeshēnghuóI really like life here.
- 你习惯这里的生活了吗nǐxíguànzhèlǐdeshēnghuólemaHave you gotten used to life here?
- 工作与生活都很重要gōngzuòyǔshēnghuódōuhěnzhòngyàoBoth work and personal life are very important.
- 现在的生活离不开互联网。xiànzàideshēnghuólíbukāihùliánwǎngLife today can't do without the internet.
- 科技的发展让生活更方便了。kējìdefāzhǎnràngshēnghuógèngfāngbiànleThe development of science and technology has made life more convenient.
- 工作是工作生活是生活gōngzuòshìgōngzuò,shēnghuóshìshēnghuóWork is work, and life is life.
More words from the lesson “Life and habits”
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 生活, pinyin shēnghuó.
What does 生活 mean?
生活 (shēnghuó) means “life; live”.
How do you write 生活?
生活 is 2 characters: 生 (shēng) — be born, life; 活 (huó) — live; alive. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 生活?
生活 is read shēnghuó. Tones: shēng — first tone, huó — second tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“life” in the lesson “Life and habits”
This word is from the topic “Home and daily life” of HSK 3. 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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