Skip to content

活该

huó gāi
HSK 2.0 Level 6 HSK 3.0 Level 7 Verb Uncommon

Definitions

  1. 1. (coll.) serve sb right
  2. 2. deservedly
  3. 3. ought
  4. 4. should

Stop forgetting what you study. Build recall daily.

Try HanyuGuide's Chinese review system with multiple choice, typed recall, tone-aware practice, and reviews scheduled before memory fades.

Start Free Trial $9.99 / year
Try the 30-second demo

Word relationships

Related words

1 item
因果报应
yīn guǒ bào yìng

(Buddhism) retribution

文化

Usage notes

Collocations

活该 is usually placed at the start of a clause and is not used with 是 or 了.

Formality

活该 is informal and often carries a schadenfreude or unsympathetic tone.

Example Sentences

2 shown
他没复习， 活该 不及格。
He didn't study, so he deserves to fail.
活该 。
Source: Tatoeba.org (ID 3832400)

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

Child Words of 活该

活
huó

to live

该
gāi

should