一生

yī shēng

HSK 3.0 Level 4 Noun Common

Definitions

1. all one's life; throughout one's life

Word relationships

Register variants

1 item

• 终生 zhōng shēng 终生 zhōng shēng throughout one's life Similar to 终身 but used in broader contexts, slightly less formal.: throughout one's life

Synonyms

3 items

• 一辈子 yī bèi zi 一辈子 yī bèi zi (for) a lifetime Used interchangeably in most contexts, but 一辈子 is slightly more colloquial.: (for) a lifetime
• 终身 zhōng shēn 终身 zhōng shēn lifelong Often used in formal or legal contexts (e.g., 终身成就奖 lifetime achievement award).: lifelong
• 毕生 bì shēng 毕生 bì shēng all one's life Literary or formal, emphasizes dedication of one's entire life (e.g., 毕生精力).: all one's life

Usage notes

Collocations

Commonly paired with 的 to modify nouns, as in 一生的事业 (lifelong career), not *一生事业.

Common mistakes

一生 is a noun and cannot be used as an adverb. To say 'for life', use 一辈子 or 终生 as an adverbial complement.

Example Sentences

4 shown

他 一生 追求名利。

He pursued fame and profit all his life.

他 一生 都在探求真理。

He spent his whole life seeking truth.

他为梦想奋斗了 一生 。

He struggled for his dream all his life.

他 一生 獨身。

Source: Tatoeba.org (ID 846335)

Sentence data courtesy of Tatoeba.org. AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Words Containing 一生

• 一生一世 一生一世 yī shēng yī shì: a whole lifetime (idiom); all my life
• 九死一生 九死一生 jiǔ sǐ yī shēng: nine deaths and still alive (idiom); a narrow escape
• 科学技术是第一生产力 科学技术是第一生产力 kē xué jì shù shì dì yī shēng chǎn lì: science and technology is the number one productive force (from a 1978 speech by Deng Xiaoping 鄧小平|邓小平[dèng xiǎo píng] introducing the Four Modernizations 四個現代化|四个现代化[sì ge xiàn dài huà])

Child Words of 一生

• 一 一 yī: one
• 生 生 shēng: to be born