活

huó
#219 most
frequent character
live, save, work, living, alive
verb
adjective

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

活 has 氵 water as the meaning part and 舌 guā as the sound part. Its first sense was 'flowing water'. From there it grew to 'moving', 'alive', 'livelihood', and 'lively'.

活 as a component in other characters

sound1 character
阔

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Example Sentences

我想要活得快乐。
wǒ xiǎngyào huódé kuàilè 。
I want to live happily.
这条鱼还活着。
zhè tiáo yú huán huózhe 。
This fish is still alive.
我们要好好活下去。
wǒmen yào hǎohǎo huóxiàqù 。
We need to live well.

Words with similar meanings

生存shēngcún
survive
While '活' encompasses more general living, '生存' focuses specifically on the aspect of surviving or existing, often in challenging circumstances.
生活shēnghuó
to live (one's life)
'生活' emphasizes the daily aspects of living and lifestyle, whereas '活' can refer more broadly to the state of being alive.

Homophones

和huó
to combine a powdery substance (flour, plaster etc) with water

Words Starting With 活

活动huó dòng
"to exercise; to move about; to operate; activity; loose; shaky; active; movable; maneuver; to use connections
活泼huó po
lively; vivacious; brisk; active
活跃huó yuè
active; vigorous
活力huó lì
energy; vitality; vigor; vital force
活该huó gāi
(coll.) serve sb right; deservedly; ought; should

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