生机 (shēng jī) — vitality, life force; chance to live, reprieve… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

生机 is written/literary 'vitality' for nature, growth, or survival — stronger and more abstract than 活力 (everyday energy). It also means a slim 'chance to live'.

noun

vitalitylife forcechance to livereprieve from death

Examples

生机。
Zhè chǎng chūn yǔ gěi dà dì dài lái le shēng jī.
This spring rain has brought vitality to the earth.
生机。
Yī shēng shuō tā hái yǒu yì sī shēng jī.
The doctor said he still has a slim chance to live.
，生机。
Kū sǐ de shù yòu cháng chū xīn yá, chōng mǎn le shēng jī.
The dead tree has sprouted new shoots, full of vitality.

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.

机jīvitality

'生' and '机' combine as life and vitality, giving life force or a chance to live.

Characters in this word

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

屮屮chèbud
一一yīground

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

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

木几机

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree; wood

Sound part声符shēngfú

几

几jǐ机jī

Same sound today

The left part is 木 (tree; wood), and the right part 几 gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Abstract Concepts

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