生
The 生 radical
To be born, life
Memory hook
A sprout 屮 pushing up out of the soil 土 — life beginning: 生活 (life), 学生 (student), 生日 (birthday).
The 生 radical (read shēng) means to be born, life. The HSK 3.0 data contains 1 characters and 68 words built on it — learning them together is far faster than one character at a time.
Practise the 生 radical
Study this radical's 68 words with flashcards or a quiz.
The free plan drills 15 words per radical. Upgrade to Premium
Characters with the 生 radical
1 charactersHSK 1· 1 characters
HSK 1生
to be born; to give birth
Vocabulary with the 生 radical
68 wordsWords containing at least one character with the 生 radical, ordered by HSK level.
The free plan shows 9 words per HSK level (45/68 words of this radical).
secondary school student
sir, Mr. (a respectful term)
doctor
university student
female student, girl
student
primary school student
birthday
to be angry
a lifetime; one's whole life
to be born; birth
to be born; to give birth
life; daily life
new word; vocabulary word
international student
test candidate; examinee
to produce; to give rise to; to generate
life; one's life
hygiene; sanitation; sanitary
toilet; restroom
to happen; to occur
to produce; production
vivid; lively
life
to survive; survival; existence
graduate, graduating student
graduate student, postgraduate
to recruit students, enrollment
to generate, to create
to regenerate, to be reborn
teacher and student
cost of living
vitamin
peanut, groundnut
to be born, the birth of
wild; living in nature
to lose one's life; to perish
biological, by blood
to do business, to trade
to maintain health; to keep fit
born and raised in a place (usually refers to one's hometown or locality)
innate, inborn
twin
antibiotic
freshman, newcomer
Why learn vocabulary by the 生 radical?
The 生 radical hints at the meaning to be born, life. When you meet an unfamiliar character carrying it, you already know part of its meaning before reaching for a dictionary — which is why learners who know their radicals move faster.
How to study: read the memory hook, skim the 1 characters to spot the pattern, then drill the 68 words with flashcards. Spaced repetition brings each word back exactly when you need it.