活 Stroke Order — How to Write 活
活 is written in 9 strokes, following the standard Chinese stroke order. Start from the radical 氵, then complete the remaining strokes.
Stroke order matters in Chinese: it keeps the character balanced, and it is how dictionaries and handwriting input methods expect a character to be written.
活 Radical and Character Components
活 is a phono-semantic compound: 氵 (water) carries the meaning, while 舌 indicates the sound.
Radical: 氵 + 6 more strokes
活 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- huó
Meanings of 活 in Chinese
1
huó活
Alive; living; live (opposite of dead); capable of growth or movement.
这片森林里有许多活物。
There are many living creatures in this forest.
To bring someone back to life or to save a life, especially through medical or rescue efforts.
他用自己的专业知识，成功地活了一个重伤员。
He successfully revived a severely injured person using his professional knowledge.
To be in a living state; alive.
这个犯人被活捉了。
This criminal was captured alive.
Vividly; lifelike; as if alive.
她的眼睛活像两颗黑葡萄。
Her eyes are exactly like two black grapes.
Refers to something that is not fixed, movable, or in an active, flexible state.
这种活页本的纸张可以随时增减，非常方便。
The pages of this loose-leaf notebook can be added or removed at any time, which is very convenient.
Lively; vivid; energetic; full of vitality. Used to describe something or someone that is active, animated, and not dull.
这个孩子很活泼，给大家带来了很多欢乐。
This child is very lively and brings a lot of joy to everyone.
Work; a task or job; a product of labor.
他今天有很多活儿要干。
He has a lot of work to do today.
Common Words and Phrases with 活
1
Moveable type (typography)
这本古籍的插图部分是采用木刻，而文字部分则是使用活版印刷的
The illustrations in this ancient book were made with woodblock prints, while the text was printed using movable type.
2
valve
心脏的活瓣能够精确地控制血液的流动方向。
The valves of the heart can precisely control the direction of blood flow.
3
A funny person or a clown, often with a slightly derogatory connotation.
他真是个活宝，每次聚会都能把大家逗得捧腹大笑。
He's such a clown; he always has everyone in stitches at every gathering.
4
A living newspaper drama; a short, lively play reflecting current events.
学生们通过一场活报剧生动地展示了节约用水的重要性。
The students vividly demonstrated the importance of water conservation through a living newspaper play.
5
active and lively
孩子们在公园里活蹦乱跳，玩得非常开心
The children were lively and full of bounce, playing very happily in the park.
6
agile and convenient
这种多功能工具用起来很活便，可以适应不同的任务。
This multi-functional tool is very flexible to use, adapting to different tasks.
7
Farm work.
他今天干了一天的活茬，累得腰酸背痛
He did a whole day's farm work today, and his back is aching from exhaustion.
8
Activity, event, or to move/exercise; can also mean movable or flexible.
我们组织了一次有趣的户外活动。
We organized an interesting outdoor activity.
9
10
Flexible; quick-witted and adaptable.
他的想法很活泛，总能找到解决问题的新方法。
His ideas are very flexible, always able to find new ways to solve problems.
11
nimble or agile (especially in thinking); also refers to having money to spare or available.
这个工作时间很活分，我可以自由安排。
This work schedule is very flexible; I can arrange it freely.
12
A Living Buddha; a high-ranking lama in Tibetan Buddhism believed to be the reincarnation of an enlightened master.
这座寺庙的活佛受到了当地信众的尊敬
The Living Buddha of this monastery is respected by local devotees.
13
Serve somebody right
他考试不及格，活该，谁让他平时不努力呢？
He failed the exam. Serves him right for not studying hard.
14
To make something active, reactive, or to convert it into an active form, often in chemical or biological processes.
酶可以活化底物，加速化学反应。
Enzymes can activate substrates, accelerating chemical reactions.
More words with 活
- nóng农huó活farm work; agricultural tasks
- cún存huó活to survive; to be alive
- fù复huó活Resurrection, Revival
- gǎo搞huó活Revitalize, Activate
- gǒu苟huó活To cling to life, To barely survive
- jī激huó活Activate
- jiù救huó活to bring back to life
- káng扛huó活do manual labor, work as a laborer
- kuài快huó活cheerful; happy; joyful
- líng零huó活odd jobs, casual work
- tóng铜huó活Copperware, Bronze ware
- fèi肺huó活liàng量Vital Capacity
- yǎng养huó活support, feed
- máng忙huó活to be busy working, to bustle about
- quán全huó活Complete, Fully operational
- sū苏huó活Revive; bring back to life.
- tōu偷huó活slack off, cut corners
- piào票huó活unpaid labor
- huó活pō泼lively, vivacious
- gàn干huó活to work, to labor
Idioms with 活
- huó活bèng蹦huó活tiào跳lively and energetic
- huó活líng灵huó活xiàn现vivid and lifelike
- huó活lóng龙huó活xiàn现vivid and lifelike
- huó活shén神huó活xiàn现vivid and lifelike
- huó活tiān天yuān冤wang枉to suffer a grievous injustice
- huó活xué学huó活yòng用learn diligently and apply creatively
- huó活yǎn眼xiàn现bào报immediate retribution
- bàn半sǐ死bàn半huó活barely alive
- bàn半sǐ死bù不huó活barely alive, spiritless
- bù不gù顾sǐ死huó活reckless regardless of life or death
- bù不sǐ死bù不huó活neither dead nor alive
- bù不zhī知sǐ死huó活recklessly disregard danger
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Open the tool →Questions about 活
What does 活 mean in Chinese?
活 (huó) means “Alive” in Chinese.
How do you pronounce 活?
活 is pronounced huó in Mandarin Chinese.
How many strokes does 活 have?
活 has 9 strokes.
How do you write 活?
活 is written in 9 strokes, starting from the radical 氵. See the animated stroke order on this page.
What is the radical of 活?
The radical of 活 is 氵, and 活 is a phono-semantic compound.