Definition
活 (huó) as a verb means 'to live' — staying alive biologically — while 生活 (shēnghuó) refers to the way one leads their daily life. As a noun, 活 is a colloquial word for 'job, task, work' (e.g., 干活儿 'do work'), less formal than 工作 (gōngzuò). As an adjective it means 'alive, living' (opposite of 死).
verb
to live(noun, colloquial) workjob
adjective
aliveliving
Easily confused
- 乱luànlook-alike(adjective) in a mess, chaotic, disordered
- 或huòsound-alike(conjunction) or (used to link alternatives)
- 刮guālook-aliketo scrape, to shave
- 火huǒsound-alikefire (noun)
- 货huòsound-alikegoods, merchandise
- 伙huǒsound-alike(classifier) for groups of people
- 豁huōsound-alike(verb) to crack, to split, to open a gap
Examples
- 活。Tā huó de hěn jiànkāng.He lives very healthily.
- 活。Zhè zhī māo shì huó de.This cat is alive.
- 活。Zhège huó hěn qīngsōng.This job is very easy.
Browse more HSK 4 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.