毕生 (bì shēng) — one's whole life; lifetime

Definition

Literary 'one's whole life', typically before effort or devotion (毕生的追求). Compare 一生 (neutral lifetime) and 一辈子 (colloquial, a whole life).

noun

one's whole lifelifetime

毕生。
Tā bì shēng zhì lì yú kē xué yán jiū.
He devoted his whole life to scientific research.
毕生。
Zhè shì tā bì shēng de zhuī qiú.
This is the pursuit of her whole life.
毕生。
Lǎo rén yòng bì shēng de xīn xuè dōu qīng zhù zài zhè bù zuò pǐn lǐ le.
All the efforts of his lifetime were poured into this work.

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.

毕bìcomplete/entire

毕 (complete) and 生 (life) combine to mean one's whole life.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 畢; 毕 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 畢 combines 田 (field) and 𠦒 (net), showing a net used for hunting in a field.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Appears in