发生
HSK 3 (exam 2025)HSK 3 (2021)Old HSK 4
发生 (fāshēng) · to happen
发生 (fāshēng) means “to happen; to occur; to take place”. It is written with 2 characters: 发 (to send) + 生 (to give birth). It is an HSK 3 word in the current exam syllabus (2025).
How 发生 is built
The characters
发 fā · to send
What 发 is made of
- 又yòu — (once) again
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
发生了什么事？Fāshēng le shénme shì?What happened?
这件事是昨天发生的。Zhè jiàn shì shì zuótiān fāshēng de.This happened yesterday.
Questions about 发生
What does 发生 mean?
发生 (fāshēng) means “to happen; to occur; to take place”.
How do you pronounce 发生?
发生 is pronounced fāshēng.
Which HSK level is 发生?
发生 is in HSK 3 (exam 2025) and HSK 3 (2021) and Old HSK 4.
Related words
- 出发chūfāto set off
- 发现fāxiànto find
- 头发tóufahair (on the head)
- 发表fābiǎoto publish
- 发出fāchūto send out
- 发达fādádeveloped
- 发动fādòngto start (an engine)
- 发明fāmíngto invent
- 发送fāsòngto send
- 发言fāyánto speak (at a meeting)
Learn 发生 with its group
It is part of HSK 3 (2021) · Group 78: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.