生活 (shēnghuó) — Life in Mandarin

shē​nghuó
“Life”

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#156 most common word · HSK 4 · CEFR B2

Pinyin colour key: tone 1 (high flat), tone 2 (rising), tone 3 (dipping), tone 4 (falling), neutral.

Tone breakdown

生活 is pronounced shēnghuó. Tap any syllable’s row to hear the whole word.

shē
first tone (high & flat, ˉ)
nghuó
second tone (rising, ˊ)

In a sentence

Wǒ hěn xiǎngshòu xiànzài de shēnghuó.

I really enjoy my current life.

Hear it, then say it right

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Frequently asked questions

What does 生活 mean?+

生活 (shēnghuó) means "Life" in Mandarin Chinese.

How do you pronounce 生活?+

生活 is pronounced shēnghuó. It uses the tone 1 (high flat), then the tone 2 (rising). Tap the character on this page to hear native audio.

How common is 生活 in Mandarin?+

生活 is the #156 most frequent word in spoken Mandarin, so it is one of the first words worth learning.

Where 生活 fits

HSK 4 · CEFR B2
See the full HSK 4 vocabulary list

Every HSK 4 word with tone-coloured pinyin and audio.

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Browse more on the Mandarin vocabulary hub, or read how to learn Mandarin tones.