Definition
半生 has two quite different meanings. As a noun it refers to 'half a lifetime' — a significant portion of someone's lifespan, often used in reflective or literary contexts to talk about accumulated experience. Used before food nouns like 牛排 and 面, it means 'half-cooked, undercooked, or rare' — describing food that hasn't been fully cooked through.
n.
half a lifetimehalf of one's lifehalf-cookedundercookedrare (for food)
Examples
- 半生。Bàn shēng de jīnglì ràng tā xuéhuì le hěn duō.Half a lifetime of experience taught him a lot.
- 半生，。Zhè fèn niúpái shì bàn shēng de, wèidào hěn hǎo.This steak is rare/undercooked, and it tastes great.
- 半生。Tā bàn shēng de huíyì li yǒu hěn duō měihǎo de shì.In his half-lifetime memories, there are many beautiful things.
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.