生 (shēng) is a Chinese character meaning “to be born”. It is written from 𠂉 (top stroke form) and 土 (earth; soil), and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “to be born; to grow”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
𠂉 + 土
Overlapping structure
Structure from: Unicode U+751F; modern decomposition candidate checked against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry (strokes 1-2 = 𠂉, strokes 3-5 = 土, long vertical crosses both)
Memory aid
The short strokes of 𠂉 lie across 土, the ground — a sprout pushing up out of the soil. Something is being born.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 生日shēng rìbirthday生 = shēngHSK 1
- 卫生wèi shēnghygiene; sanitation; health生 = shēng
- 生气shēng qìto get angry; to take offence生 = shēng
- 产生chǎn shēngto give rise to; to bring about生 = shēngHSK 4
- 医生yī shēngdoctor生 = shēngHSK 1
- 生产shēng chǎnto produce; production生 = shēngHSK 4
- 生肖shēng xiàoChinese zodiac animal sign生 = shēng
- 生词shēng cínew word (one you have not learned yet)生 = shēng
- 生辰shēng chénbirthday生 = shēng
- 生姜shēng jiāngfresh ginger生 = shēng
- 生涯shēng yácareer; the course of one's life生 = shēng
- 生疮shēng chuāngto develop sores; to break out in boils生 = shēng
- 生病shēng bìngto fall ill; to get sick生 = shēng
- 衍生yǎn shēngto derive; to spin off; derivative生 = shēng
- 诞生dàn shēngto be born; to come into being生 = shēng
- 谋生móu shēngto make a living生 = shēng
- 野生yě shēngwild; undomesticated生 = shēng
- 陌生mò shēngunfamiliar; strange生 = shēngHSK 4
- 陌生人mò shēng rénstranger生 = shēngHSK 4
Go deeper
All readings
to be born; to grow
to be born; to give birth; to grow; to live; life; raw; unfamiliar
出生；生长；活着；也指没有煮熟的、不熟悉的。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 生日shēng rìbirthday生 = shēngHSK 1
- 卫生wèi shēnghygiene; sanitation; health生 = shēng
- 生气shēng qìto get angry; to take offence生 = shēng
- 产生chǎn shēngto give rise to; to bring about生 = shēngHSK 4
- 医生yī shēngdoctor生 = shēngHSK 1
- 生产shēng chǎnto produce; production生 = shēngHSK 4
- 生肖shēng xiàoChinese zodiac animal sign生 = shēng
- 生词shēng cínew word (one you have not learned yet)生 = shēng
- 生辰shēng chénbirthday生 = shēng
- 生姜shēng jiāngfresh ginger生 = shēng
- 生涯shēng yácareer; the course of one's life生 = shēng
- 生疮shēng chuāngto develop sores; to break out in boils生 = shēng
- 生病shēng bìngto fall ill; to get sick生 = shēng
- 衍生yǎn shēngto derive; to spin off; derivative生 = shēng
- 诞生dàn shēngto be born; to come into being生 = shēng
- 谋生móu shēngto make a living生 = shēng
- 野生yě shēngwild; undomesticated生 = shēng
- 陌生mò shēngunfamiliar; strange生 = shēngHSK 4
- 陌生人mò shēng rénstranger生 = shēngHSK 4
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 生 mean?
生 (shēng) means to be born; to give birth; to grow; to live; life; raw; unfamiliar.
How do you pronounce 生?
It is pronounced shēng.
What parts is 生 made of?
𠂉 (top stroke form) and 土 (earth; soil). The recorded source is: Unicode U+751F; modern decomposition candidate checked against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry (strokes 1-2 = 𠂉, strokes 3-5 = 土, long vertical crosses both). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 生 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 生?
生. 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 生?
Common ones are 生日, 卫生, 生气. The reading of 生 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.