生
生 (shēng) means “to give birth”. It is made of 一 + 土 and has 5 strokes, and is an HSK 4 word in the current exam syllabus (2025).
Break 生 into its parts
What 生 is made of
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 土 tǔ — earth
- 十 — ten
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 丨 — vertical stroke
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 十 — ten
Origin hint: A shoot 屮 growing in the soil 土 (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
生 stroke order
Example sentences
她生了一个女儿。Tā shēng le yī ge nǚ'ér.She gave birth to a daughter.
你是哪一年生的？Nǐ shì nǎ yī nián shēng de?What year were you born?
Words with 生
- 大学生dàxuéshēnguniversity student
- 男生nánshēngboy
- 女生nǚshēnggirl
- 生病shēngbìngto become ill
- 生气shēngqìangry
- 生日shēngrìbirthday
- 先生xiānshengMr
- 小学生xiǎoxuéshēngprimary school student
- 学生xuéshengstudent
- 医生yīshēngdoctor
- 中学生zhōngxuéshēngsecondary school student
- 出生chūshēngto be born
- 考生kǎoshēngexam candidate
- 留学生liúxuéshēnginternational student
- 生词shēngcínew word
- 生活shēnghuólife
- 一生yīshēngall one's life
- 产生chǎnshēngto produce
- 发生fāshēngto happen
- 人生rénshēnglife
- 生产shēngchǎnto produce
- 生存shēngcúnto survive
- 生动shēngdònglively
- 生命shēngmìnglife
- 生意shēngyibusiness
- 生长shēngzhǎngto grow
- 卫生wèishēnghygiene
- 卫生间wèishēngjiānbathroom
- 毕业生bìyèshēnggraduate
- 研究生yánjiūshēnggraduate student
- 花生huāshēngpeanut
- 陌生mòshēngstrange
- 诞生dànshēngto be born
- 生机shēngjīvitality
- 生理shēnglǐphysiology
- 生疏shēngshūunfamiliar
- 生态shēngtàiecology
- 生物shēngwùliving thing
- 生肖shēngxiàoChinese zodiac animal
- 生效shēngxiàoto take effect
- 生锈shēngxiùto rust
- 生育shēngyùto give birth
- 天生tiānshēngborn
- 维生素wéishēngsùvitamin
- 自力更生zìlìgēngshēngself-reliance
- 师生shīshēngteachers and students
Also built with 一
- 七qīseven
- 万wànten thousand
- 丈zhànggentleman
- 三sānthree
- 上shàngon
- 下xiàdown
- 不bùnot
- 与yǔand
- 专zhuānconcentrated
- 且qiěmoreover
- 丘qiūmound
- 丙bǐngthird
Quick facts
| Pinyin | shēng |
|---|---|
| Meaning | to give birth; to be born; raw |
| Strokes | 5 |
| Radical | 生 (life, #100) |
| Pattern | Overlapping |
| HSK | HSK 4 (exam 2025) · HSK 3 (2021) |
Questions about 生
What does 生 mean?
生 (shēng) means “to give birth; to be born; raw”.
How many strokes does 生 have?
生 has 5 strokes.
What is the radical of 生?
The radical of 生 is 生 (shēng, “life”), Kangxi radical number 100.
What parts make up 生?
生 is made of 一 (horizontal stroke) and 土 (earth).
Which HSK level is 生?
生 is in HSK 4 (exam 2025) and HSK 3 (2021).
Learn 生 with its group
It is part of HSK 2 (2021) · Group 9: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.