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有生以来 (yǒu shēng yǐ lái) — since one was born; in one's whole life

Definition

A set phrase meaning 'since one was born' — used to frame a statement as true across the speaker's entire lifetime. Typically placed at the start or end of the sentence for emphasis.

noun
since one was bornin one's whole life

Examples

  • 有生以来，。
    yǒu shēng yǐ lái, Wǒ cóng méi jiàn guò zhè me dà de xuě.
    In my entire life, I've never seen such heavy snow.
  • 有生以来。
    Zhè shì tā yǒu shēng yǐ lái dì yī cì gǎn dào zhè me xìng fú.
    This is the first time in his life that he has felt so happy.
  • 有生以来，。
    yǒu shēng yǐ lái, Tā zhōng yú shí xiàn le zì jǐ de mèng xiǎng.
    For the first time in her life, she finally realized her dream.

Origin

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
又
又yòu有yǒu
Same sound today

The form 有 combines 又, used for its sound, with a shape from 肉, 'meat'; the hand-holding-meat story is a folk explanation, not shown in the oldest shape.

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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.

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A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape came from a drawing of a person carrying something; in 以, part of that person is still visible on the right.

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A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 來; 来 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 來 shows a wheat plant: a central ear, upward leaves, and downward stem and roots. The simplified 来 is a later shorthand.

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Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesTime (Abstract)

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