生
contributes the sense of being born · Kangxi radical 100
contributes the sense of being born, living, and growing — and in many characters simply supplies the sound shēng/xìng
生 began as a picture of a young plant pushing up out of the earth: a sprout with a leaf or two, drawn above a single horizontal line standing for the ground. In the modern shape you can still trace it — the long bottom stroke is the soil, the vertical stroke running up through it is the stem, and the slanting stroke and short crossbars at the top are the spreading leaves. From that sprouting plant come the ideas of birth, life and growth, as in 牲 for a live animal raised for sacrifice and 甥 for a child born to one's sister. In 姓, 性, 星, 笙, 胜 and 旌 it is mostly carrying the sound rather than the picture.
生 at a glance
- Meaning
- contributes the sense of being born
- Strokes
- 5
- Characters
- 14
- Role
- Usually contributes sound
- Kangxi radical
- 100
Characters with 生 (10 of 14)
HSK 1 · 1
HSK 2 · 1
HSK 4 · 1
HSK 5 · 1
Frequently asked questions
What does the component 生 mean?
生 means "contributes the sense of being born". In the characters that contain it, it usually contributes sound.
How many Chinese characters contain 生?
14 characters in this dictionary contain 生, including ones at HSK 1, HSK 2, HSK 4, HSK 5, HSK 6.
Is 生 a radical?
Yes — 生 is Kangxi radical 100, one of the 214 traditional indexing radicals used to organise Chinese dictionaries.
How many strokes does 生 have?
生 is written in 5 strokes.