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幸存 (xìng cún) — to survive (a disaster)

Definition

幸存 means to survive a disaster or catastrophe, usually as one of the few who made it out alive. Compared with 生存 (general 'to exist / stay alive') and 存活 (biological/medical survival), 幸存 is specifically about escaping a destructive event.

verb
to survive (a disaster)

Examples

  • 幸存。
    Tā cóng nà chǎng huǒ zāi zhōng xìng cún le xià lái.
    He survived that fire.
  • 幸存。
    Zhǐ yǒu shǎo shù chéng kè zài chē huò zhōng xìng cún.
    Only a few passengers survived the car accident.
  • 幸存。
    Yī shēng shuō tā néng xìng cún shì gè qí jì.
    The doctor said his survival is a miracle.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

幸xìngluckily
存cúnsurvive

幸存 means luckily survive, describing living through disaster.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 幸 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
子子zǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
才
才cái存cún
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

存 pairs 子 with 才, which was used for the sound.

Open 存 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Safety & Danger

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.