TongTong
Sign in

一生 (yī shēng) — one's whole life; lifetime

Definition

一生 emphasizes the full span of a life, often with a reflective or summary tone. More literary than 一辈子 (plain spoken 'whole life'); broader than 生涯 ('career, one phase of life').

noun
one's whole lifelifetime
Easily confused

Examples

  • 一生。
    Tā yī shēng dōu zài wèi jiā tíng nǔ lì gōng zuò.
    He has been working hard for his family all his life.
  • 一生。
    Zhè shì tā yī shēng zhōng zuì kuài lè de yì tiān.
    This is the happiest day of her life.
  • 一生？
    Nǐ yī shēng zuì xiǎng gǎn xiè de rén shì shuí?
    Who is the person you want to thank most in your life?

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.

一yīwhole
生shēnglife

一 and 生 make 'whole life', meaning all one's lifetime.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4Life Stages & Age2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 4 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.