活 (huó) is a Chinese character meaning “to live”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 舌 (tongue), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “to live; alive”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
氵 + 舌
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺核验：前 3 笔为氵，后 6 笔为舌）
Memory aid
Water (氵) plus a tongue (舌): a tongue that still tastes water is a tongue that is alive.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 活泼huó pōlively; vivacious活 = huó
- 干活gàn huóto work; to do a job活 = huó
- 灵活líng huónimble; flexible活 = huó
- 活该huó gāito serve someone right; deservedly so活 = huó
- 活跃huó yuèactive; lively; to enliven活 = huó
Go deeper
All readings
to live; alive
to live; alive; living; lively; movable; work (a job to be done)
生存；有生命力的。也指灵动不呆板，或指要做的工作。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 活泼huó pōlively; vivacious活 = huó
- 干活gàn huóto work; to do a job活 = huó
- 灵活líng huónimble; flexible活 = huó
- 活该huó gāito serve someone right; deservedly so活 = huó
- 活跃huó yuèactive; lively; to enliven活 = huó
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 活 mean?
活 (huó) means to live; alive; living; lively; movable; work (a job to be done).
How do you pronounce 活?
It is pronounced huó.
What parts is 活 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 舌 (tongue), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺核验：前 3 笔为氵，后 6 笔为舌）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 活 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 活?
水. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 活?
Common ones are 活泼, 干活, 灵活. The reading of 活 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.