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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

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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