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生存

shēng cún
HSK 2.0 Level 6 HSK 3.0 Level 5 Verb Common

Definitions

  1. 1. to exist
  2. 2. to survive

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Word relationships

Antonyms

1 item
死亡
sǐ wáng

to die

死亡 means death, the opposite of survival.

Register variants

1 item
活着
huó zhe

alive

活着 is colloquial for 'to be alive', used in everyday speech.

Related words

1 item
生活
shēng huó

to live

生存 focuses on mere existence or survival, while 生活 implies a way of living or daily life.

Synonyms

1 item
存活
cún huó

to survive (a serious accident)

Both mean to stay alive; 存活 is more technical, often used in biology or statistics.

Usage notes

Collocations

生存 is often used in fixed phrases like 生存能力 (survival ability) or 生存条件 (living conditions), rather than with 很.

Common mistakes

Do not use 生存 for 'to live somewhere'; use 住 or 生活 for residence.

Example Sentences

2 shown
在这种环境下很难 生存 。
It is hard to survive in this kind of environment.
魚離開水就無法 生存 。
Source: Tatoeba.org (ID 764473)

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

Words Containing 生存

生存环境
shēng cún huán jìng

habitat; living environment

生存农业
shēng cún nóng yè

subsistence farming

适者生存
shì zhě shēng cún

survival of the fittest

Child Words of 生存

存
cún

to exist

生
shēng

to be born