Sentence #10042032 from Tatoeba · translation adapted
How 生物 is built
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.
物wùthing
牛cow · niúMeaning part
勿must not · wùSound part
牛 hints at the meaning (cow); 勿 (wù) hints at the sound. Compare it with wù.
Memory aidAn ox 牛, which the oldest Chinese dictionary calls the largest of things, with 勿 (wù) for the sound: a thing.
How to write 生物
生 5 strokes · 物 8 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 生物 (shēngwù). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.
生物 (shēngwù) means “living thing” or “organism”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it shēngwù: shēng with a 1st tone, then wù with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 生物 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type shengwu with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 生物 from the suggestions. Typing shengwu into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
生物 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 from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.