活命

huómìng

verb #7,715

Meanings

1 to survive; to save one's life
2 to scrape by; to eke out a living

Characters

life; fate; destiny

Examples

在战争年代，人们只想活命。

Zài zhànzhēng niándài, rénmen zhǐ xiǎng huómìng.

During wartime, people just wanted to survive.

他靠打零工活命。

Tā kào dǎlínggōng huómìng.

He scraped by doing odd jobs.

求你饶了我，给我一条活命！

Qiú nǐ ráo le wǒ, gěi wǒ yītiáo huómìng!

I beg you, spare me and let me live!

Tips

usage

活命 has a desperate, bare-minimum survival connotation — it's about staying alive rather than living well. Often seen in historical dramas or stories about hardship.

Stroke Order

活 huó

命 mìng