人生
HSK 4 (exam 2025)HSK 3 (2021)Old HSK 5
人生 (rénshēng) · life
人生 (rénshēng) means “life”. It is written with 2 characters: 人 (person) + 生 (to give birth). It is an HSK 4 word in the current exam syllabus (2025).
How 人生 is built
The characters
人 rén · person
What 人 is made of
人 is not built from smaller parts; it is written with 2 strokes.
Origin hint: The legs of a human being (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
生 shēng · to give birth
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)
Example sentences
人生很短，要快乐。Rénshēng hěn duǎn, yào kuàilè.Life is short; be happy.
这是我人生中最好的一天。Zhè shì wǒ rénshēng zhōng zuì hǎo de yī tiān.This is the best day of my life.
Questions about 人生
What does 人生 mean?
人生 (rénshēng) means “life”.
How do you pronounce 人生?
人生 is pronounced rénshēng.
Which HSK level is 人生?
人生 is in HSK 4 (exam 2025) and HSK 3 (2021) and Old HSK 5.
Related words
- 别人biérenother people
- 病人bìngrénpatient
- 工人gōngrénworker
- 家人jiārénfamily members
- 老人lǎorénold person
- 男人nánrénman
- 女人nǚrenwoman
- 爱人àirenhusband or wife
- 大人dàrenadult
- 好人hǎoréngood person
Learn 人生 with its group
It is part of HSK 3 (2021) · Group 5: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.