HSK 6 · Ideas

自力更生 zìlìgēngshēng “self-reliance” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 自力更生 means

  1. self-reliance
  2. to stand on one’s own feet
  3. regeneration through one’s own effort (idiom)

How to say 自力更生

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale自zì4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale力lì4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale更gēng1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale生shēng1st tone, high and level

自力更生 in a sentence

  1. 他从十八岁开始就自力更生了。

    Tā cóng shíbā suì kāishǐ jiù zìlìgēngshēng le.

    He has stood on his own two feet since he was eighteen.

    Sentence by WillyChina

  2. 我们要自力更生，不能总靠别人。

    Wǒmen yào zìlìgēngshēng, bùnéng zǒng kào biéren.

    We need to be self-reliant and not always depend on others.

    Sentence by WillyChina

How 自力更生 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 自 (zì) drawn as one shape
自zìself; oneself

自 is a single shape of 6 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

Memory aidDrawn from a nose. The usual explanation is that people point to their nose to mean “me”, so it came to mean “self”.

The character 力 (lì) drawn as one shape
力lìpower

力 is a single shape of 2 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

Memory aidThought to show an old plough, and pulling it took strength: strength, power.

The character 更 (gèng) with each of its parts in a different colour
更gēngto change or replace
  • 一one · yī
  • 曰say · yuē
  • 乂to govern · yì
The character 生 (shēng) drawn as one shape
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.

How to write 自力更生

自 6 strokes · 力 2 strokes · 更 7 strokes · 生 5 strokes

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

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

Words related to 自力更生

Words with 自

自己zìjǐ · oneself自行车zìxíngchē · bike自zì · from来自láizì · to come from (a place)自信zìxìn · to have confidence in oneself自然zìrán · nature自觉zìjué · conscious自私zìsī · selfish自由zìyóu · freedom自愿zìyuàn · voluntary

Words with 力

努力nǔlì · to work hard力气lìqi · strength能力nénglì · capability压力yālì · pressure巧克力qiǎokèlì · chocolate (loanword)精力jīnglì · energy尽力jìnlì · to strive one’s hardest权力quánlì · power力量lìliang · power魅力mèilì · charm

Words with 更

更gèng · more更加gèngjiā · even more更正gēngzhèng · to correct更新gēngxīn · to update

Words with 生

医生yīshēng · doctor学生xuésheng · student先生xiānsheng · mr大学生dàxuéshēng · university student小学生xiǎoxuéshēng · primary school student中学生zhōngxuéshēng · middle-school student生日shēngrì · birthday生病shēngbìng · to get sick生气shēngqì · angry女生nǚshēng · female student

More words: Ideas & Concepts

转折zhuǎnzhé · turning point主流zhǔliú · mainstream准则zhǔnzé · principle主义zhǔyì · -ism姿态zītài · posture踪迹zōngjì · trace宗旨zōngzhǐ · aim尊严zūnyán · dignity

FAQs

自力更生 (zìlìgēngshēng) means “self-reliance” or “to stand on one’s own feet”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it zìlìgēngshēng: zì with a 4th tone, then lì with a 4th tone, then gēng with a 1st tone, then shēng with a 1st tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 自力更生 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type ziligengsheng with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 自力更生 from the suggestions. Typing ziligengsheng into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
自力更生 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.