出生
chūshēng
In Chinese, the English word 'born' is expressed as 出生 (chūshēng).
出生 is used to describe the event of being given birth to.
Meaning: given birth to (adj)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 出生 consists of 出, meaning to exit or emerge and 生, meaning to give birth or life.
Which one should you use?
While 出生 describes the event of being born, it is not used as an adjective to describe a person's innate character, such as a 'born leader'. For describing someone's natural qualities, you would use terms like 天生的.
How does it change in a sentence?
You can make the phrase more formal by adding the preposition 于 after it, creating 出生于, which is commonly used to specify a birth date or location. To indicate that the birth event has been completed, such as when announcing a birth, you can add the aspect particle 了 to form 出生了.
How do you pronounce it?
chūshēng
Did you know?
- Chinese has a specific word 诞生, which also means 'born' but is reserved for the birth of great figures or the 'birth' of a new era and invention.
- In ancient Chinese, the concept of birth was often linked to the word 生, which also means 'raw' or 'uncooked', reflecting a linguistic connection between new life and nature.
- The character 生 in 出生 is a pictograph that originally depicted a plant sprouting from the earth.
Examples in context
- 她去年出生。She was born last year.This sentence uses 出生 to state when someone was born.Tatoeba #5907629 by verdastelo9604, translation #313842 by CK
- 他出生在大阪。He was born in Osaka.This sentence uses 出生 to state where someone was born.Tatoeba #9959025 by GlossaMatik, translation #301284 by CN
- 我出生在上海。I was born in Shanghai.Tatoeba #9991970 by GlossaMatik, translation #10372344 by DaoSeng
- 他出生在上海。He was born in Shanghai.
- 这位伟大的领袖降生在中国。This great leader was born in China.
- 这项技术诞生于上个世纪。This technology was born in the last century.
- 这个星系是由恒星生成的。This galaxy was born from stars.
- 我出生在北京。I was born in Beijing.
- 103 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their childhood cities.
- 梓涵 Zihan你出生在哪儿？Nǐ chūshēng zài nǎ'er?Where were you born?
- 志强 Zhiqiang我出生在广州。Wǒ chūshēng zài Guǎngzhōu.I was born in Guangzhou.
- 梓涵 Zihan那真是个好地方。Nà zhēnshì gè hǎo dìfāng.That is a really good place.
- 志强 Zhiqiang是的，我很喜欢那里。Shì de, wǒ hěn xǐhuān nàlǐ.Yes, I like it very much.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “born” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
