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半生 (bàn shēng) — half a lifetime, half of one's life; half-cooked, undercooked, rare (for food)

Definition

Literary noun meaning 'half a lifetime' — used for extended periods of one's life in writing or reflective speech. The food sense ('rare, undercooked', as in 半熟的牛排) is unrelated and just shares the literal 'half-cooked' image.

noun
half a lifetimehalf of one's lifehalf-cookedundercookedrare (for food)

Examples

  • 半生。
    bàn shēng De jīng lì ràng tā xué huì le hěn duō.
    Half a lifetime of experience taught him a lot.
  • 半生，。
    Zhè fèn niú pái shì bàn shēng de, wèi dào hěn hǎo.
    This steak is rare/undercooked, and it tastes great.
  • 半生。
    Tā bàn shēng de huí yì lǐ yǒu hěn duō měi hǎo de shì.
    In his half-lifetime memories, there are many beautiful things.

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.

半bànhalf
生shēnglife or raw

半生 combines 半 meaning half with 生, which can mean life or raw, giving half a lifetime or half-cooked.

Characters in this word

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

The shape pairs 八 (to divide) with 牛 (cow), showing a cow cut into two halves.

Open 半 →

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
Life Stages & Age

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