人生

Chinese

	man; person; people	to be born; to give birth; life to be born; to give birth; life; to grow; student; raw
simp. and trad. (人生)	人	生
alternative forms	儂生／侬生 Teochew
anagram	生人

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): rénshēng

(Zhuyin): ㄖㄣˊ ㄕㄥ
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): jan⁴ sang¹

(Taishan, Wiktionary): ngin³ sang¹
Hakka (Sixian, PFS): ngìn-sên
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): lîn-seng / lîn-sng / jîn-seng

(Teochew, Peng'im): nang⁵ sên¹
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶zen-sen

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)
  - Hanyu Pinyin: rénshēng
  - Zhuyin: ㄖㄣˊ ㄕㄥ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: rénsheng
  - Wade–Giles: jên²-shêng¹
  - Yale: rén-shēng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: rensheng
  - Palladius: жэньшэн (žɛnʹšɛn)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʐən³⁵ ʂɤŋ⁵⁵/
  - Homophones:
    [Show/Hide]
    ^edit
    ^edit
    人生
    人聲 / 人声
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: jan⁴ sang¹
  - Yale: yàhn sāng
  - Cantonese Pinyin: jan⁴ sang¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: yen⁴ seng¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɐn²¹ sɐŋ⁵⁵/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: ngin³ sang¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ᵑɡin²² saŋ³³/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ngìn-sên
  - Hakka Romanization System: ngin^ˇ sen^ˊ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: ngin² sen¹
  - Sinological IPA: /ŋin¹¹ sen²⁴/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Taipei, Kinmen, Singapore)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lîn-seng
  - Tâi-lô: lîn-sing
  - Phofsit Daibuun: linsefng
  - IPA (Kinmen): /lin²⁴⁻¹² siɪŋ⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Xiamen): /lin²⁴⁻²² siɪŋ⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Singapore): /lin²⁴⁻²¹ seŋ⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Taipei): /lin²⁴⁻¹¹ siɪŋ⁴⁴/
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Philippines)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lîn-sng
  - Tâi-lô: lîn-sng
  - Phofsit Daibuun: linsngf
  - IPA (Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Philippines): /lin²⁴⁻²² sŋ̍³³/
- (Hokkien: Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: jîn-seng
  - Tâi-lô: jîn-sing
  - Phofsit Daibuun: jinsefng
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /d͡zin¹³⁻²² siɪŋ⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /zin²³⁻³³ siɪŋ⁴⁴/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: nang⁵ sên¹
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: nâng seⁿ
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /naŋ⁵⁵⁻¹¹ sẽ³³/
Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁶zen-sen
  - MiniDict: zen^去 sen
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³zen-sen
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /zən²² sən⁴⁴/

Middle Chinese: nyin sraeng|sraengH

Rime
Character	人	生	生
Reading #	1/1	1/2	2/2
Initial (聲)	日 (38)	生 (21)	生 (21)
Final (韻)	眞 (43)	庚 (109)	庚 (109)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Level (Ø)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open	Open
Division (等)	III	II	II
Fanqie	如鄰切	所庚切	所敬切
Baxter	nyin	sraeng	sraengH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ȵiɪn/	/ʃˠæŋ/	/ʃˠæŋ^H/
Pan Wuyun	/ȵin/	/ʃᵚaŋ/	/ʃᵚaŋ^H/
Shao Rongfen	/ȵʑjen/	/ʃaŋ/	/ʃaŋ^H/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ȵin/	/ʂaɨjŋ/	/ʂaɨjŋ^H/
Li Rong	/ȵiĕn/	/ʃɐŋ/	/ʃɐŋ^H/
Wang Li	/ȵʑĭĕn/	/ʃɐŋ/	/ʃɐŋ^H/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ȵʑi̯ĕn/	/ʂɐŋ/	/ʂɐŋ^H/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	rén	shēng	shèng
Expected Cantonese Reflex	jan⁴	sang¹	sang³

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*ni[ŋ] sreŋ|sreŋ|sreŋ/

(Zhengzhang): /*njin sʰleːŋ|sreŋs/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	人	生	生	生
Reading #	1/1	1/3	2/3	3/3
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	rén	shēng	shēng	shēng
Middle Chinese	‹ nyin ›	‹ sræng ›	‹ sræng ›	‹ srjæng ›
Old Chinese	/*ni[ŋ]/	/sreŋ/ (MC srj- > sr-; or s.reŋ ?)	/*sreŋ/	/sreŋ/ (or s.reŋ ?)
English	(other) person	bear, be born; live	fresh, raw	bear, be born; live
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	人	生	生
Reading #	1/1	1/2	2/2
No.	10800	11312	11322
Phonetic component	人	生	生
Rime group	眞	耕	耕
Rime subdivision	1	0	0
Corresponding MC rime	仁	生	生
Old Chinese	/*njin/	/*sʰleːŋ/	/*sreŋs/

Noun

人生

life (i.e. human life) (Classifier: 段 m)
人生的真諦／人生的真谛 ― rénshēng de zhēndì ― the true meaning of life

璀璨人生 ― cuǐcàn rénshēng ― splendid life

人生道理 ― rénshēng dàolǐ ― philosophies of life

懷疑人生／怀疑人生 ― huáiyí rénshēng ― to want to give up on life

人生的十字路口 ― rénshēng de shízìlùkǒu ― crossroads of life

科學的人生態度／科学的人生态度 ― kēxué de rénshēng tàidù ― scientific attitude to life

人生嘅真諦／人生嘅真谛 [Cantonese] ― jan⁴ sang¹ ge³ zan¹ dai³ [Jyutping] ― the true meaning of life

人生永遠沒有太晚的開始。 [MSC, trad.]
人生永远没有太晚的开始。 [MSC, simp.]
Rénshēng yǒngyuǎn méiyǒu tài wǎn de kāishǐ. [Pinyin]
No beginning has ever been proved to be too late.

Synonyms

(literary) 人世 (rénshì)

Derived terms

人生一世，草生一秋
人生七十古來稀 / 人生七十古来稀 (rénshēng qīshí gǔlái xī)
人生不滿百，常懷千歲憂 / 人生不满百，常怀千岁忧
人生伴侶 / 人生伴侣 (rénshēng bànlǚ)
人生何處不相逢 / 人生何处不相逢 (rénshēng héchù bù xiāngféng)
人生在世
人生如夢 / 人生如梦 (rénshēngrúmèng)
人生如寄
人生如戲 / 人生如戏
人生如朝露
人生如萍
人生如風燈 / 人生如风灯
人生導師 / 人生导师 (rénshēng dǎoshī)
人生教練 / 人生教练 (rénshēng jiàoliàn)
人生朝露
人生無常 / 人生无常
人生自古誰無死 / 人生自古谁无死
人生觀 / 人生观 (rénshēngguān)
人生識字憂患始 / 人生识字忧患始 (rénshēng shízì yōuhuàn shǐ)
人生開口笑難逢 / 人生开口笑难逢
人生面不熟

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (人生):

→ Japanese: 人生(じんせい) (jinsei)
→ Korean: 인생(人生) (insaeng)
→ Vietnamese: nhân sinh (人生)

Japanese

Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:

人生

Wikipedia ^ja

Kanji in this term
人	生
じん Grade: 1	せい Grade: 1
on'yomi

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 人生 (ȵiɪn ʃˠæŋ).

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) じんせー [jíꜜǹsèè] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1]^[2]
IPA^(key): [d͡ʑĩɰ̃se̞ː]

Noun

人(じん)生(せい) • (jinsei)

life
それが人生(じんせい)
sore ga jinsei
such is life
Literally, person's past. Used when speaking about the former life of a dead person.

Usage notes

人生 is distinct from several other Japanese words that may also be translated to English as "life". In particular, it means "a person's narrative, experience, and/or accomplishments from birth to death". Compare the terms below, which may also be rendered as "life" in English:

生活 (seikatsu, “life”): Day-to-day life as it is experienced; lifestyle; one's usual activities, habits, and routines.
生存 (seizon, “life”): Action involved in staying alive, as in "signs of life".
命 (inochi, “life”): The state of being alive, an animating force, or life as a whole (from birth to death).
生命 (seimei, “life”): Biological life in general, particularly in scientific contexts.
存在 (sonzai, “life”): Being; either the state of existing or a thing that exists.
寿命 (jumyō, “life”): Lifespan or life expectancy.
残機 (zanki, “life”): A video-game life; a chance to play.
元気 (genki, “life”): Liveliness.

Derived terms

芸術(げいじゅつ)は長(なが)く人生(じんせい)は短(みじか)し (geijutsu wa nagaku jinsei wa mijikashi, “ars longa, vita brevis”)
人生意気(じんせいいき)に感(かん)ず (jinsei iki ni kanzu)
人生観(じんせいかん) (jinseikan)
人生訓(じんせいくん) (jinseikun)
人生劇場(じんせいげきじょう) (jinsei gekijō)
人生行路(じんせいこうろ) (jinsei kōro)
人生行路難(じんせいこうろかた)し (jinsei kōro katashi)
人生七十古来稀(じんせいしちじゅうこらいまれ)なり (jinsei shichijū korai marenari)
人生朝露(じんせいちょうろ)の如(ごと)し (jinsei chōro no gotoshi)
人生哲学(じんせいてつがく) (jinsei tetsugaku)
人生(じんせい)のための芸術(げいじゅつ) (jinsei no tame no geijutsu)
人生派(じんせいは) (jinseiha)
人生模様(じんせいもよう) (jinsei moyō)
人生論(じんせいろん) (jinseiron)
人生僅(じんせいわず)か五十年(ごじゅうねん) (jinsei wazuka gojūnen)
自然(しぜん)と人生(じんせい) (shizen to jinsei)
実人生(じつじんせい) (jitsujinsei)

References

^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.

Korean

Hanja in this term
人	生

Noun

人生 • (insaeng) (hangeul 인생)

hanja form^? of 인생 (“life”)

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
人	生

Noun

人生

chữ Hán form of nhân sinh (“life”).

[DJR-1] Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NHK-2] NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

[1]

[2]

Chinese

Pronunciation

Noun

Synonyms

Derived terms

Descendants

See also

Japanese

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Usage notes

Derived terms

References

Korean

Noun

Vietnamese

Noun