Meaning of 生日
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- birthday
Measure word: 個|个
How to use 生日
生日 is a noun used for anyone's birthday, and it often appears with 快乐 (kuàilè) in the standard greeting. You can also say 过生日 (guò shēngrì) for celebrating a birthday. Example: 祝你生日快乐。(Zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè.) Happy birthday to you.
生 (shēng) means to be born or to give birth, and 日 (rì) means day or sun. Put them together and you get the day you were born: your birthday.
Common mistake: Learners often write 日 (rì) as 目 (mù, eye) or 曰 (yuē). 日 has only one middle stroke and is taller than it is wide. Also keep 生 in first tone, shēng, and do not drop the tone on 日, which stays fourth tone.
生日 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
生 shēng · to grow · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
日 rì · sun · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 生日.
| 先生 | xiānsheng | teacher; gentleman; sir; mister (Mr.) |
| 医生 | yīshēng | doctor; medical practitioner |
| 生气 | shēngqì | to get angry; to be furious; vitality; liveliness |
| 学生 | xuéshēng | student; schoolchild |
| 生病 | shēngbìng | to fall ill |
| 女生 | nǚshēng | schoolgirl; female student |
| 男生 | nánshēng | schoolboy; male student |
| 日期 | rìqī | date |
| 大学生 | dàxuéshēng | university student; college student |
| 星期日 | xīngqīrì | Sunday |
| 小学生 | xiǎoxuéshēng | primary school student; schoolchild |
| 中学生 | zhōngxuéshēng | middle-school student; high school student |
Questions about 生日
What does 生日 mean?
生日 (shēngrì) means "birthday" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 生日?
生日 is made of 2 characters: 生 (5 strokes), 日 (4 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.
Is 生日 an HSK word?
Yes. 生日 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I ask someone when their birthday is in Chinese?
Say 你的生日是几月几号？(Nǐ de shēngrì shì jǐ yuè jǐ hào?), which means "What month and day is your birthday?" In casual speech you can also ask 你什么时候过生日？(Nǐ shénme shíhou guò shēngrì?).
Does 生 mean the same thing in 生日 and 学生?
They are related but not identical. In 生日, 生 means to be born. In 学生 (xuéshēng, student) and 医生 (yīshēng, doctor), 生 refers to a person, a meaning that grew out of the same root.