生词 meaning in English
new word (in textbook); word that is unfamiliar or not yet studied
Meaning of 生词
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- new word (in textbook)
- word that is unfamiliar or not yet studied
Measure word: 組|组,個|个
How to use 生词
生词 is the standard word for new vocabulary in a lesson or any word you do not know yet. Teachers and textbooks use it constantly, often with 记 (jì, to memorize) or 查 (chá, to look up). Example: 这课有很多生词。(Zhè kè yǒu hěn duō shēngcí.) This lesson has a lot of new words.
生 (shēng) can mean raw or unfamiliar, like 生 food that is not cooked yet. A 生词 is a "raw" 词 (cí, word) that your brain has not cooked yet.
Common mistake: Learners often write 词 (cí) as 司 (sī) or forget the speech radical 讠 on the left. Also keep the tones straight: shēng is first tone and cí is second tone, so the pitch goes level and then rises.
生词 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
词 cí · word · 7 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
Related words
Words that share a character with 生词.
| 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 |
| 生日 | shēngrì | birthday |
| 生病 | shēngbìng | to fall ill |
| 女生 | nǚshēng | schoolgirl; female student |
| 男生 | nánshēng | schoolboy; male student |
| 大学生 | dàxuéshēng | university student; college student |
| 小学生 | xiǎoxuéshēng | primary school student; schoolchild |
| 中学生 | zhōngxuéshēng | middle-school student; high school student |
| 生活 | shēnghuó | to live; life |
Questions about 生词
What does 生词 mean?
生词 (shēngcí) means "new word (in textbook); word that is unfamiliar or not yet studied" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 生词?
生词 is made of 2 characters: 生 (5 strokes), 词 (7 strokes). That is 12 strokes in total.
Is 生词 an HSK word?
Yes. 生词 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 生词 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 生词 is written 生詞.
What is the opposite of 生词?
The usual opposite is 熟词 (shúcí), a familiar word you already know. The same pair appears in 生 and 熟 for raw and cooked food, and for strangers versus familiar people.
Can I use 生词 for a word I forgot, not just a new one?
Yes. 生词 covers any word that is unfamiliar to you right now, not only words in a new lesson. For example, you might say 这本书里生词太多了 (Zhè běn shū lǐ shēngcí tài duō le), meaning this book has too many words I don't know.