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余生 (yú shēng) — one's remaining years (after a major event); survival; (by extension) survivor

Definition

Literary/elevated word for 'the rest of one's life' (after a key event like retirement or disaster). Often used in fixed phrases such as 余生中 ('in one's remaining years').

noun
one's remaining years (after a major event)survival(by extension) survivor

Examples

  • 余生。
    Tuì xiū zhī hòu tā xī wàng zài zì jǐ de yú shēng zhōng ān jìng dì xiě zuò.
    After retirement he hopes to quietly write in his remaining years.
  • 余生。
    Dì zhèn zhōng de yú shēng ràng tā gèng jiā zhēn xī shēng mìng.
    Surviving the earthquake made him cherish life even more.
  • 余生。
    Zhè chǎng zāi nàn de yú shēng wǎng wǎng huì yǒu xīn lǐ chuāng shāng.
    Survivors of this disaster often have psychological trauma.

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.

余yúremaining
生shēnglife

余 means remaining, 生 means life; together one's remaining years.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 餘; 余 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
食食shí
Sound part声符shēngfú
余
余yú餘Yú
Same sound today

The traditional form 餘 pairs 食 (food) with 余 as its sound part; the simplified 余 is a later abbreviation.

Open 余 →

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
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