活 meaning and stroke order
To live; alive; living
How to write 活, stroke by stroke
9 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 活
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to live
- alive
- living
- work
- workmanship
How 活 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Water.
氵 gives the meaning and 舌 hints at the sound.
Radical: 氵 (water), shared by 467 characters on this site.
How to remember 活
活 is water 氵 next to a tongue 舌. Think of a moist, moving tongue: water keeps living things alive. In this pictophonetic character, 氵 gives the meaning of water and 舌 hints at the sound.
活 (huó) means alive or living, and it also means work, especially manual work. It appears in very common words like 生活 (shēnghuó, life) and 活动 (huódòng, activity). Example: 他今天在家干活儿。(Tā jīntiān zài jiā gànhuór.) He is doing chores at home today.
Common mistake: Learners often write the right side as 舍 (shě) or 话's partner incorrectly. The right side of 活 is exactly the same 舌 as in 话 (huà), so do not confuse 活 (water radical) with 话 (speech radical 讠).
Common words with 活
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 生活 | shēnghuó | to live; life | HSK 2 |
| 活动 | huódòng | to exercise; to move about; to work out; shaky; unsteady; loose (tooth etc) | HSK 2 |
| 干活儿 | gànhuór | erhua variant of 幹活|干活[gan4 huo2] | HSK 2 |
| 活力 | huólì | energy; vitality | HSK 5 |
| 快活 | kuàihuo | happy; cheerful | HSK 5 |
| 活泼 | huópō | lively; vivacious | HSK 5 |
| 活跃 | huóyuè | active; lively | HSK 6 |
| 灵活 | línghuó | flexible; nimble | HSK 6 |
| 生活费 | shēnghuófèi | cost of living; living expenses | HSK 6 |
| 复活 | fùhuó | to revive; (lit. and fig.) to come back to life | HSK 7-9 |
| 活该 | huógāi | (coll.) serve sb right; deservedly | HSK 7-9 |
| 活儿 | huór | work; (lots of) things to do | HSK 7-9 |
| 养活 | yǎnghuo | to provide for; to keep (animals, a family etc) | HSK 7-9 |
| 激活 | jīhuó | to activate | HSK 7-9 |
活 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 活
Learning 活 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 活
How many strokes are in 活?
活 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 活 mean?
活 (huó) means to live; alive; living. A common word with it is 生活 (shēnghuó), meaning "to live; life".
How do you pronounce 活?
活 is pronounced huó, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 活?
The radical of 活 is 氵, which carries the idea of "water". Dictionaries list 活 under this radical.
Is 活 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 活 is part of the HSK 2 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
What is the difference between 活 and 生 when talking about being alive?
活 focuses on being alive or staying alive, as in 活着 (huózhe, to be alive). 生 is more about birth, growth, or life in general, as in 出生 (chūshēng, to be born). They combine in 生活 (shēnghuó), meaning daily life.
Why does 快活 have a neutral tone?
In 快活 (kuàihuo), meaning happy or cheerful, the second syllable is usually read in the neutral tone in everyday speech. In most other words, such as 活力 (huólì), 活 keeps its second tone.