huó

佸

Character · Verb · Adjective · AdverbTraditional活

live; work; vivid

Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma

Meanings

5 senses · 9 examples
1.

verb

to live; to be alive

The basic meaning of being alive or living.

Tā他
yǒng勇
gǎn敢
dì地
huó活
le了
xià下
lái来
 。

He bravely survived.

Yú鱼
er儿
lí离
bù不
kāi开
shuǐ水
jiù就
huó活
bù不
liǎo了
 。

Fish cannot live without water.

2.

verb

to earn a living; to work

Refers to working or engaging in an activity to sustain oneself.

Tā他
kào靠
huà画
huà画
wéi为
shēng生
 ,
huó活
de得
hěn很
zì自
zai在
 。

He makes a living by painting and lives quite freely.

Zhè这
fèn份
gōng工
zuò作
néng能
ràng让
wǒ我
huó活
xià下
qù去
 。

This job can allow me to keep living.

3.

adjective

vivid; lively; agile

Describes something that is full of life, energy, or flexibility.

Zhè这
fú幅
huà画
huà画
dé得
fēi非
cháng常
huó活
 。

This painting is painted very vividly.

Tā他
de的
nǎo脑
zi子
hěn很
huó活
 ,
zǒng总
néng能
xiǎng想
chū出
hǎo好
bàn办
fǎ法
 。

His mind is very agile; he can always think of good solutions.

4.

verb

to meet; to gather (archaic)

archaic

An archaic, literary meaning from classical texts, rarely used in modern spoken language.

Xī昔
rì日
hǎo好
yǒu友
 ,
jīn今
rì日
zài再
huó活
 。
 (
 古
 语
 示
 例
 )

Old friends meet again today. (example from classical language)

5.

adverb

exceedingly; very (in certain idioms)

informal

Used as an intensifier in specific, often idiomatic expressions.

Zhè这
hái孩
zi子
huó活
xiàng像
tā他
bà爸
ba爸
 。

This child looks exactly like his father.

Tā他
bǎ把
wǒ我
qì气
dé得
huó活
bèng蹦
luàn乱
tiào跳
 。

He made me so angry I was hopping mad.