活 huó alive
alive; to live; work; lively
How to remember 活: 氵 water + 舌 tongue = alive. The lost hiker finally finds water, lets it run over his dry tongue and laughs "I am still alive!"
Component breakdown
活 = 氵 water + 舌 tongue
- 氵 water
- 舌 tongue
The lost hiker finally finds water, lets it run over his dry tongue and laughs "I am still alive!"
How it came to be
Water with a tongue beside it. Running water rather than standing: water with a voice in it. Being alive is drawn as the difference between a stream and a pond.
How it is used
- To live / alive, and by extension lively or 'work (manual)' - 活着 (huózhe) be alive, 生活 (shēnghuó) life, 干活 (gànhuó) do a job.
- 活 as noun = a piece of work/chore: 手上有活 (shǒushàng yǒu huó) have work on hand.
- Contrast 活泼 (huópo, lively/bubbly, of a person) with 活跃 (huóyuè, active/animated, of an atmosphere or participation).
Characters built with 活
Words with 活
- 生活shēnghuólifeHSK 3
- 活动huódòngactivityHSK 4
- 活泼huópolivelyHSK 4
- 干活儿gànhuórto work; to do manual labour (spoken, erhua)HSK 4
- 灵活línghuóflexibleHSK 5
- 活力huólìenergyHSK 6
- 活跃huóyuèactiveHSK 6
- 养活yǎnghuoto provide forHSK 7
- 复活fùhuóto reviveHSK 7
- 存活cúnhuóto survive (a serious accident)HSK 7
- 忙活mánghuoto be really busyHSK 7
- 快活kuàihuohappyHSK 7
- 活期huóqīcurrent (account)HSK 7
- 活该huógāiserve somebody rightHSK 7
- 激活jīhuóto activateHSK 7
- 鲜活xiānhuóvividHSK 7
Example sentences
- 他们活得很开心。 Tāmen huó de hěn kāixīn.They're living a happy life.
- 孩子们在这里活动。 Háizimen zài zhèlǐ huódòng.Children are exercising here.
- 少年们很活泼。 Shàoniánmen hěn huópo.The young boys are very spirited.
- 他们的生活很幸福。 Tāmen de shēnghuó hěn xìngfú.They have happy lives.