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生 (shēng) — to give birth to; to grow; (adjective) raw, uncooked

Definition

生 as a verb focuses on the action itself — 'to give birth' (a mother 生 a child) or 'to grow/sprout' (a tree 生 leaves). For the state of being born, use 出生; for a baby, say 诞生 (formal).

verb
to give birth toto grow
adjective
rawuncooked
Easily confused

Examples

  • 生。
    Tā qù nián shēng le yí gè hái zi.
    She gave birth to a child last year.
  • ，。
    Chūn tiān lái le, shù shēng chū le xīn yè zi.
    Spring has come, and the tree has grown new leaves.
  • 生，。
    Zhè tiáo yú shì shēng de, bù néng zhí jiē chī.
    This fish is raw; you can't eat it directly.

Origin

Compound ideograph
六书liùshū
会意huìyì

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.

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 41000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsBiology2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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