活

huó

氵 + 舌

HSK 3.0Level 4

Definitions

huó (verb) to live

huó (adjective) alive; living; movable; vivid

huó (verb) to work

huó (noun) work; activity

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 𠯑 represents the sound.

Semantic: 氵 Phonetic: 舌

About

活 is a phonosemantic compound combining the water radical 氵, which points to the idea of fluidity and life-sustaining moisture, with 𠯑 as the phonetic component. Its core meaning is "to live", encompassing existence, survival, and vitality, in contrast to death. As an adjective, it describes things that are mobile, flexible, or energetic; as a noun, it can refer to physical labor or the daily work needed to make a living.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical Cao Wei (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

妈妈每天干活。

Māma měitiān gànhuó.

Mom works every day.

我们的生活很好。

Wǒmen de shēnghuó hěn hǎo.

Our life is very good.

他活泼又聪明。

Tā huópō yòu cōngmíng.

He is lively and smart.

学校有文化活动。

Xuéxiào yǒu wénhuà huódòng.

The school has cultural activities.

我们经常参加体育活动。

Wǒmen jīngcháng cānjiā tǐyù huódòng.

We often participate in sports activities.

活鱼比死鱼新鲜。

Huó yú bǐ sǐ yú xīnxiān.

Live fish are fresher than dead fish.

通过劳动，我们才能活得有意义。

Tōngguò láodòng, wǒmen cáinéng huó dé yǒu yìyì.

Through labor, we can live meaningfully.

在恶劣的环境中，植物依然顽强地活着。

Zài èliè de huánjìng zhōng, zhíwù yīrán wánqiáng de huózhe.

In harsh environments, plants still live tenaciously.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 氵

Component: 舌

活