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诞生 (dàn shēng) — to be born

Definition

诞生的‘to be born’ is used for things as well as people — new ideas, movements, products — and sounds more formal and written than 出生, which is the everyday word for a person's birth.

verb
to be born

Examples

  • 诞生2000。
    Tā dàn shēng yú 2000 nián.
    He was born in the year 2000.
  • 诞生。
    Zhè ge jié rì dàn shēng yú qù nián de zhè ge shí hou.
    This festival was born around this time last year.
  • 诞生。
    Yí gè xīn xiǎng fǎ dàn shēng zài tǎo lùn zhōng.
    A new idea was born in the discussion.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

诞dànbirth
生shēngbirth

“诞” and “生” both point to coming into life, so the word means to be born.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 誕; 诞 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánword, speech
Sound part声符shēngfú
延
延yán誕dàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 誕 combines 言 (word, speech) with 延, which gives the sound; the simplified 诞 is a later shorthand.

Open 诞 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Life Stages & Age

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