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生平 (shēng píng) — (noun) a person's whole life (especially one's life story or career); (adverbial, often with 从未/没有) in one's entire life

Definition

生平 emphasizes a person's whole life story or career, often in biographical writing. 人生 is more general ('life' as existence), while 生涯 focuses on a specific career phase.

noun
a person's whole life (especially one's life story or career)(adverbial, often with 从未/没有) in one's entire life

Examples

  • ，生平。
    Tā xiě le yì běn zì zhuàn, xiáng xì jì lù le zì jǐ de shēng píng.
    He wrote an autobiography that records his life in detail.
  • 生平，。
    shēng píng Jīng lì le xǔ duō kǎn kě, dàn tā cóng wèi fàng qì.
    His life went through many hardships, but he never gave up.
  • 生平。
    Wǒ shēng píng dì yī cì jiàn dào zhè me měi dì fēng jǐng.
    In my entire life, this is the first time I've seen such beautiful scenery.

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.

生shēnglife
平píngwhole/entire

生平 pairs 生, meaning life, with 平, meaning whole or entire, to denote a person's entire life.

Characters in this word

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.

Open 生 →

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

The origin is uncertain. One explanation combines 八 (division) and 亏 (exhaled air) to show smooth speech.

Open 平 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Life Stages & Age

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