生きる · ichidan verb
| Form | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | 生きる | 生きない |
| Polite | 生きます | 生きません |
| Past polite | 生きました | 生きませんでした |
| Past | 生きた | 生きなかった |
| Te-form | 生きて | 生きないで |
| Desire | 生きたい | 生きたくない |
| Potential | 生きられるalso 生きれる | 生きられないalso 生きれない |
| Passive | 生きられる | 生きられない |
| Causative | 生きさせる | 生きさせない |
| Causative passive | 生きさせられる | 生きさせられない |
| Volitional | 生きよう | |
| Polite volitional | 生きましょう | |
| Imperative | 生きろ | 生きるな |
| Conditional | 生きれば | 生きなければ |
| Tara conditional | 生きたら | 生きなかったら |
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
Core meaning: to be alive, to exist as a living being. Used for people, animals, and sometimes metaphorically for things that endure.
My grandmother lived to be 100.
この木は何百年も生きている。
This tree has been alive for hundreds of years.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
make a living; subsist; get by
Focuses on earning a livelihood or sustaining oneself financially. Often used with ~で (by means of) or ~に (on).
彼は小説を書いて生きている。
He makes a living writing novels.
わずかな年金で生きていくのは大変だ。
It's hard to get by on a small pension.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
be in effect; be in use; function
Used for rules, systems, traditions, or things that remain active or valid. Often seen in the ~ている form.
この法律はまだ生きている。
This law is still in effect.
古い慣習が今も生きている地域がある。
There are regions where old customs still live on.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
come to life; be enlivened; become vivid
Describes something becoming lively, vivid, or full of energy, often through a particular element or addition. Common in expressions like ~が生きる (something comes alive).
この絵は背景を暗くすると主題が生きる。
In this painting, the subject comes to life when the background is darkened.
彼の経験がチームの中で生きている。
His experience is really enlivening the team.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
be safe; be alive (in a game)
Sports term: in baseball, a runner is safe; in go, a group has two eyes and cannot be captured. Also used in other games where a player or piece remains in play.
ランナーは間一髪で生きている。
The runner is safe by a hair's breadth.
この石は二眼あって生きている。
This group has two eyes and is alive.
He chose to live in the city.
He makes his living through fishing.
This law is still in effect.
His experience is really paying off in this job.
The runner was safe at first base.
生きる means 'to live', the opposite of 果てる's literary sense of dying.
生きる means 'to live', the direct opposite of 死す's meaning 'to die'.
生きる is the common verb meaning 'to live', whereas 生ける is its archaic transitive/prenominal form now confined to fixed phrases like 生ける屍.
survive; stay alive; remain
survival; remaining alive · survivor; relic
reason for living; purpose in life; ikigai
lively; vividly; energetically
survive; live through; pull through
survive; live through; pull through
revive; come back to life; be restored to life
burying alive; live burial
living in shame; dishonor while alive
lifeblood; living blood
lifelong separation; parting while alive
vengeful spirit; living ghost; doppelgänger · mankind; souls; people
way of life; attitude to life; how one lives
lifelike; exact resemblance; spitting image
live bait
live long; survive
living; being alive · freshness; liveliness; vitality · life of a Go group; uncapturable group · stet; leave as is · damned; wretched
live; living
living Buddha; saintly monk · living person; someone still alive
still having slim chances of victory
living god
liver taken from a living animal
living body; flesh and blood · fresh fish
face of a living person
live horse; living horse
death and life; death or life · death