How to say “all one's life” in Chinese
all one's life, lifetime
“All one's life” in Chinese is 一辈子, yí bèi zi: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
一辈子 is read yí bèi zi: 3 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
Before a measure word its tone changes: yí before a fourth tone, yì before the others. In numbers and dates it stays yī.
Below, 车 “cart”; on top, 非 fēi hints at the reading, as it also does in 悲 bēi.
A picture of a swaddled baby. As a suffix it is read with the neutral tone: zi.
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 “一辈子”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 一辈子. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 爷爷种了一辈子地。yéyezhòngleyíbèizidìGrandpa farmed all his life.
- 爷爷种2了一辈子地2yéyezhòngleyíbèizidìGrandpa farmed all his life.
More words from the lesson “Quarrels, “face” and 人家”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “all one's life” in Chinese?
“All one's life” in Chinese is 一辈子, pinyin yíbèizi.
What does 一辈子 mean?
一辈子 (yíbèizi) means “all one's life, lifetime”.
How do you write 一辈子?
一辈子 is 3 characters: 一 (yī) — one; 辈 (bèi) — generation; 子 (zǐ) — child; suffix. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 一辈子?
一辈子 is read yíbèizi. Tones: yí — second tone, bèi — fourth tone, zi — neutral tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“all one's life” in the lesson “Quarrels, “face” and 人家”
This word is from the topic “Family and loved ones” of HSK 6. 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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