Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.
生shēngto grow; to give birth; to produce
生 is a single shape of 5 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.
Memory aidA shoot growing up out of the soil 土: to grow, to be born.
理lǐtexture
王king · wángMeaning part
里village · lǐSound part
王 hints at the meaning (king); 里 (lǐ) hints at the sound. Compare it with lǐ.
Memory aid王 here is jade 玉: cutting jade along its grain. 里 (lǐ) gives the sound: to put in order, reason.
How to write 生理
生 5 strokes · 理 11 strokes
Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.
Stroke order chart for 生理 (shēnglǐ). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.
生理 (shēnglǐ) means “physiology” or “physiological”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it shēnglǐ: shēng with a 1st tone, then lǐ with a 3rd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 生理 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type shengli with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 生理 from the suggestions. Typing shengli into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
生理 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.
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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.
生shēng1st tone, high and level
理lǐ3rd tone, dipping
