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生气 (shēng qì) — to get angry; to be angry

Definition

生气 (shēngqì) is the everyday verb 'to be/get angry.' Lighter than 愤怒 (strong, literary), and it's the state of being angry — use 介意 when someone minds a remark, not this word.

verb
to get angryto be angry

Examples

  • 生气。
    Tā zuó tiān hěn shēng qì.
    He was very angry yesterday.
  • 。
    Nǐ bié shēng tā de qì le.
    Don't be angry at him.
  • 生气？
    Nǐ wèi shén me shēng qì?
    Why are you angry?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

生shēngproduce
气qìanger

生 (produce) and 气 (anger) combine to mean giving rise to anger.

Characters in this word

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 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
米米mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
气
气qì氣qì
Same sound today

The traditional form 氣 pairs 米 (rice) with 气, which supplies the sound; the simplified 气 is a later abbreviation.

Open 气 →

Grammar

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 3HSK 2.0 Level 31000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsEmotions & Feelings2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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