幸存 xìngcún to survive (a disaster)
How to remember 幸存: 幸 good fortune + 存 exist = to survive (a disaster).
Characters
How it is used
- To survive a disaster - 地震中幸存下来 (dìzhèn zhōng xìngcún xiàlái) to survive the earthquake.
- The doer is a 幸存者 (xìngcúnzhě, survivor); implies luck was involved, unlike neutral 生存 (shēngcún, to exist/subsist).
- Used specifically for coming through catastrophes (quakes, crashes, wars), not everyday getting-by.
Example sentences
- 有三个幸存者。 Yǒu sāngè xìngcúnzhě.There are three survivors.
- 一个幸存者都没有。 Yígè xìngcúnzhě dōu méiyǒu.There wasn't a single survivor.
- 这次交通事故中只有一个小男孩幸存了下来。 Zhècì jiāotōngshìgù zhōng zhǐyǒu yígè xiǎonánhái xìngcún le xiàlái.Only one little boy survived the traffic accident.