Chinese–EnglishWith examples

一生

yī shēng · yi sheng

Same in simplified and traditional Chinese

HSK 2

Meaning

CC-CEDICT
  1. all one's life; throughout one's life
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In a conversation

0:18 cartoon

The long-lived turtle

  1. Liangliang

    你的(nǐde)乌龟(wūguī)多大(duōdà)了(le)？

    How old is your turtle?

  2. Dengdeng

    三十岁(sānshísuì)了(le)。它的(tāde)一生(yīshēng)才(cái)过(guò)了(le)一半(yībàn)。

    Thirty. Its life is only half over.

  3. Liangliang

    什么(shénme)？它(tā)能(néng)活(huó)六十年(liùshínián)？

    What? It can live sixty years?

  4. Dengdeng

    对(duì)。你(nǐ)要(yào)照顾(zhàogu)它(tā)一生(yīshēng)。

    Yes. You will look after it all your life.

  5. Liangliang

    一生(yīshēng)……那(nà)我(wǒ)老(lǎo)了(le)，它(tā)来(lái)照顾(zhàogu)我(wǒ)。

    All my life... Then when I'm old, it will look after me.

Tap a word for its meaning in this line. The characters’ voices are computer-generated.

In a sentence

2 examples
01

他(tā)给(gěi)我(wǒ)讲(jiǎng)述(shù)了(le)他(tā)的(de)一(yì)生(shēng)。

He told me the story of his life.

Tatoeba: Chinese by fucongcong · English by Swift · CC BY 2.0 FR. Pinyin added or corrected.

02

我(wǒ)想(xiǎng)你(nǐ)是(shì)我(wǒ)一(yì)生(shēng)中(zhōng)见(jiàn)过(guò)最(zuì)漂(piào)亮(liang)的(de)女(nǚ)孩(hái)。

I think you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen.

Tatoeba: Chinese by nickyeow · English by CK · CC BY 2.0 FR. Simplified Chinese conversion; Pinyin added or corrected.

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How to write

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Mainland China stroke order, including traditional characters. Drawing sources & licenses.

The characters

Explore individually
一
yī

one; single

生
shēng

to be born; to give birth

Individual character meanings do not always explain the meaning of a whole word.

Definitions adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG and its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Pinyin display and entry grouping have been adapted.

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