生活
HSK 3 (exam 2025)HSK 2 (2021)Old HSK 4
生活 (shēnghuó) · life
生活 (shēnghuó) means “life; to live”. It is written with 2 characters: 生 (to give birth) + 活 (to live). It is an HSK 3 word in the current exam syllabus (2025).
How 生活 is built
The characters
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)
活 huó · to live
What 活 is made of
- 氵shuǐ — water
- 舌shé — tongue
- 千qiān — thousand
- 丿 — falling stroke
- 十 — ten
- 口kǒu — mouth
- 冂 — frame
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 千qiān — thousand
Origin hint: 氵 gives the meaning, 舌 gives the sound. (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
Example sentences
我在北京生活了三年。Wǒ zài Běijīng shēnghuó le sān nián.I lived in Beijing for three years.
你的生活怎么样？Nǐ de shēnghuó zěnmeyàng?How is your life?
Questions about 生活
What does 生活 mean?
生活 (shēnghuó) means “life; to live”.
How do you pronounce 生活?
生活 is pronounced shēnghuó.
Which HSK level is 生活?
生活 is in HSK 3 (exam 2025) and HSK 2 (2021) and Old HSK 4.
Related words
- 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
Learn 生活 with its group
It is part of HSK 2 (2021) · Group 11: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.