活 (huó) — Live in Mandarin
🔊 Tap to hear it
#1009 most common word
Pinyin colour key: tone 1 (high flat), tone 2 (rising), tone 3 (dipping), tone 4 (falling), neutral.
Tone breakdown
活 is pronounced huó. Tap any syllable’s row to hear the whole word.
In a sentence
zhège rén huóle hěnjiǔ
This person lived for a long time.
Hear it, then say it right
Reading pinyin only gets you halfway. ToneDeck plays native audio for 活 and thousands more words, then scores your pronunciation so your tones land. HSK 1 is free, no install.
Start freeFrequently asked questions
What does 活 mean?+
活 (huó) means "Live" in Mandarin Chinese.
How do you pronounce 活?+
活 is pronounced huó. It uses the tone 2 (rising). Tap the character on this page to hear native audio.
How common is 活 in Mandarin?+
活 is the #1009 most frequent word in spoken Mandarin, so it is one of the first words worth learning.
Words at a similar frequency
Master the tones first
What each tone sounds like and why it matters.
Why some tones change in connected speech.
Coming to iOS & Android
The mobile app is on the way. The trainer works right now.
ToneDeck for iPhone and Android is launching soon, and your progress syncs across every device. Meanwhile the full tone trainer runs in your browser today — no install, free to start.
Browse more on the Mandarin vocabulary hub, or read how to learn Mandarin tones.