一生

一生 yìshēng

Lifetime (all one's life)

一生 in a sentence yisheng

What 一生 means

  1. Lifetime (all one's life)

These meanings come from the same dictionary that powers the Chinese to Pinyin translator and the Chinese to English translator, so a whole sentence containing 一生 will read it the same way this page does.

Recognise a piece of 一生 but not the character it belongs to? Pick the parts in the component character finder and it will name the character for you — free for every character, with nothing to sign in to.

Character by character

一生 is written with 2 characters. Chinese words are usually easier to remember once you can see what each part contributes.

一
yī
One (single)
生
shēng
Life (give birth - be born - grow)

How to write 一生

Stroke order is not decoration — it is what makes handwriting legible and what dictionary lookup by stroke count depends on.

Practise 一生 on printable 田字格 sheets, trace it in the writing practice tool, or watch any other character in the Stroke Order Animator.

一生 in a sentence

This entry has no example sentence of its own yet, but 一生 is used in the stories, phrases and grammar examples published elsewhere on this site — all of them are collected here, with pinyin, English and audio.

Sounds the same as 一生

These are also written yisheng without tone marks. Tones and context are what keep them apart — which is why the tone is part of the word, not an accent on it.

Train the difference in the Tone Trainer or the Similar Sounds Quiz.

Questions about 一生

What does 一生 mean in English?

一生 is pronounced yìshēng and means Lifetime (all one's life).

How do you pronounce 一生?

一生 is yìshēng in pinyin — written yisheng without tone marks. Press the audio button on this page to hear it spoken by a native voice.

What are the characters in 一生?

一生 is written with 2 characters: 一 (yī) One (single), 生 (shēng) Life (give birth - be born - grow). Knowing the parts is usually how the whole word becomes memorable.

Keep going

Translate a whole sentence containing 一生 with the Chinese to Pinyin translator, drill it with HSK flashcards, or save it above and review it on your review deck.

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