HSK 5 · Time

一辈子 yíbèizi “(for) a lifetime” in Chinese

Traditional 一輩子

What 一辈子 means

  1. (for) a lifetime

How to say 一辈子

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale一yí2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale辈bèi4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the neutral tone: short and light, with no contour of its own子zineutral tone, light and short

Grey pinyin is a neutral tone: say it short and light. More on the neutral tone

Tone change. 一 is yī on its own. Before a fourth tone it becomes yí, and before the other tones yì. Textbooks write the change in, as here. How tone changes work

一辈子 in a sentence

  1. 这活儿我干了一辈子。

    Zhè huór wǒ gàn le yíbèizi.

    I’ve done this work all my life.

    Sentence #7841399 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 幼年时学的东西，一辈子不会忘记。

    Yòunián shí xué de dōngxi, yíbèizi búhuì wàngjì.

    What you learn as a child, you never forget.

    Sentence #897273 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  3. 一辈子只会出现一次像这样的机会。

    Yíbèizi zhǐ huì chūxiàn yí cì xiàng zhèyàng de jīhuì.

    An opportunity like this only comes along once in a lifetime.

    Sentence #8792029 from Tatoeba

How 一辈子 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.

The character 一 (yī) drawn as one shape
一yīoneyí in 一辈子

一 is a single shape of 1 stroke. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

Memory aidOne stroke for one, the way people once counted with rods.

The character 辈 (bèi) with each of its parts in a different colour
辈bèilifetime
  • 非wrong · fēiSound part
  • 车cart · chēMeaning part

车 hints at the meaning (cart); 非 (fēi) hints at the sound. Compare it with bèi.

The character 子 (zi) with each of its parts in a different colour
子zinoun suffix, as in 椅子 “chair”
  • 了clear · le
  • 一one · yī

Memory aidA baby with its arms out and its legs wrapped up.

How to write 一辈子

一 1 strokes · 辈 12 strokes · 子 3 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

一辈子 (yíbèizi) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 一辈子 (yíbèizi). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 一辈子

Words with 一

一yī · one一半yībàn · half一些yīxiē · some一点儿yìdiǎnr · a little一起yìqǐ · together第一dìyī · first一下yíxià · (after a verb) briefly一般yìbān · general一定yídìng · surely一共yígòng · altogether

Words with 辈

长辈zhǎngbèi · elder

Words with 子

儿子érzi · son椅子yǐzi · chair桌子zhuōzi · table杯子bēizi · cup妻子qīzi · wife孩子háizi · child本子běnzi · book子zi · (common noun suffix)裤子kùzi · pants帽子màozi · hat

More words: Time & Sequence

时期shíqī · period未来wèilái · future现代xiàndài · modern times夜yè · night元旦Yuándàn · New Year’s Day至今zhìjīn · so far中旬zhōngxún · middle third of a month逐渐zhújiàn · gradually

FAQs

一辈子 (yíbèizi) means “(for) a lifetime”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it yíbèizi: yí with a 2nd tone, then bèi with a 4th tone, then zi with a neutral tone. 一 is yī on its own. Before a fourth tone it becomes yí, and before the other tones yì. Textbooks write the change in, as here. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 一辈子 is written 一輩子. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type yibeizi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 一辈子 from the suggestions. Typing yibeizi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
一辈子 is an HSK 5 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.