辈 meaning and stroke order
Lifetime; generation; group of people
How to write 辈, stroke by stroke
12 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 辈
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- lifetime
- generation
- group of people
- class
- classifier for generations
- (literary) classifier for people
How 辈 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Wheel.
车 gives the meaning and 非 hints at the sound.
Radical: 非 (not), shared by 4 characters on this site.
How to remember 辈
辈 is built from 非 (fēi) on top, which gives a similar sound, and 车 (chē, vehicle or wheel) below, which carries the meaning. Picture carts lined up in rows, one after another, like generations following each other in order.
辈 rarely stands alone in modern speech. It mostly appears in words about generations and lifetimes, such as 长辈 (zhǎngbèi, elders), 前辈 (qiánbèi, seniors) and 一辈子 (yībèizi, a whole lifetime). Example: 我会爱你一辈子。(Wǒ huì ài nǐ yībèizi.) I will love you my whole life.
Common mistake: Learners often write the bottom part as 年 or forget that 非 sits on top, so the character looks unbalanced. Also keep the fourth tone bèi and do not confuse it with 背 (bèi, back) or 倍 (bèi, times), which sound the same.
Common words with 辈
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 一辈子 | yībèizi | (for) a lifetime | HSK 5 |
| 前辈 | qiánbèi | senior; older generation | HSK 7-9 |
| 长辈 | zhǎngbèi | one's elders; older generation | HSK 7-9 |
| 半辈子 | bànbèizi | half of a lifetime | |
| 下辈子 | xiàbèizi | the next life | |
| 后辈 | hòubèi | younger generation | |
| 鼠辈 | shǔbèi | a scoundrel; a bad chap | |
| 父辈 | fùbèi | people of one's parents' generation | |
| 上辈子 | shàngbèizi | one's ancestors; past generations |
辈 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 辈
How many strokes are in 辈?
辈 is written with 12 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 辈 mean?
辈 (bèi) means lifetime; generation; group of people. A common word with it is 一辈子 (yībèizi), meaning "(for) a lifetime".
How do you pronounce 辈?
辈 is pronounced bèi, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 辈?
The radical of 辈 is 非, which carries the idea of "not". Dictionaries list 辈 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 辈?
The traditional form of 辈 is 輩. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 辈 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 辈 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 辈 is part of the HSK 5 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 长辈 and 前辈?
长辈 (zhǎngbèi) means relatives or people of an older generation in the family sense, like parents and grandparents. 前辈 (qiánbèi) means someone senior in your field or workplace, who started before you, regardless of age.
Why does 辈子 have a neutral tone on 子?
In words like 一辈子 (yībèizi) and 下辈子 (xiàbèizi), 子 is a suffix and is read lightly as zi. Note also that 一 changes to yí before the fourth tone bèi, so it sounds like yíbèizi in speech.