huó mìng

活 命

Level:

SW HSK 4

ReadWriteQuiz

1
v.scrape along; earn a bare living; eke out an existence; survive
- guò qù tā mài yì huó mìng
  过去，他卖艺活命。
  In the old days, he scraped along as a street entertainer.
- wèi le huó mìng ér fèn dòu
  为了活命而奋斗
  fight for one's survival
- tā mài shuǐ guǒ huó mìng
  他卖水果活命。
  He made a living out of the sale of fruit.
synonym
shēng cún生存
antonym
sǐ wáng死亡
2
v.fmlsave somebody's life
- huó mìng zhī ēn
  活命之恩
  indebtedness to sb. for saving one's life
3
n.life
- gěi tā liú yī tiáo huó mìng
  给他留一条活命
  spare his life
- bié bǎ māo dǎ sǐ liú tā tiáo huó mìng ba
  别把猫打死，留它条活命吧。
  Don't kill the cat, spare its life.
synonym
shēng mìng生命 xìng mìng性命

Separable word
"活" and "命" can be combined as one word, or be used separately with other elements inserted.
- 他们靠什么活的命?
  What did they live on?
- 在最艰苦的时候，他们靠野菜活过命。
  In the hardest times, they lived on wild vegetables.
- 经过几天的搜救，遇险人员总算活了命。
  After several days of search and rescue, the people in distress finally survive.

活命