生せい活かつ

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い

か

つ

生活する · noun or participle which takes 'suru'

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	生せい活かつする	生せい活かつしない
Polite	生せい活かつします	生せい活かつしません
Past polite	生せい活かつしました	生せい活かつしませんでした
Past	生せい活かつした	生せい活かつしなかった
Te-form	生せい活かつして	生せい活かつしないで
Desire	生せい活かつしたい	生せい活かつしたくない
Potential	生せい活かつできる	生せい活かつできない
Passive	生せい活かつされる	生せい活かつされない
Causative	生せい活かつさせる	生せい活かつさせない
Causative passive	生せい活かつさせられる	生せい活かつさせられない
Volitional	生せい活かつしよう
Polite volitional	生せい活かつしましょう
Imperative	生せい活かつしろ	生せい活かつするな
Conditional	生せい活かつすれば	生せい活かつしなければ
Tara conditional	生せい活かつしたら	生せい活かつしなかったら

Meanings

noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', intransitive verb

life; living; daily life

Broad term for everyday life, one's way of living, or the act of living. Often used in contexts like daily routines, lifestyle, or making a living.

田舎いなかでの生せい活かつはのんびりしている。
Life in the countryside is relaxed.
彼かれは一人ひとりで生せい活かつしている。
He lives alone.

noun

livelihood; making a living

Focuses on the economic aspect: how one earns money to support oneself. Common in phrases like 生活のために働く (work for a living).

生せい活かつのために、彼かれは毎まい日にち長ちょう時じ間かん働はたらいている。
He works long hours every day to make a living.

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Usage patterns

〈場ば所しょ〉で生せい活かつするto live one's life / reside in a place
彼かれは東とう京きょうで生せい活かつしている。
He lives in Tokyo.
生せい活かつが苦くるしいone's financial situation is difficult
物ぶっ価かが上あがって生せい活かつが苦くるしくなった。
Prices went up, so making a living has become hard.
〈人ひと〉と生せい活かつするto live together with someone
彼かの女じょは両りょう親しんと生せい活かつしている。
She lives with her parents.
生せい活かつのために働はたらくto work in order to make a living
父ちちは家か族ぞくの生せい活かつのために毎まい日にち働はたらいている。
My father works every day to support the family's livelihood.
生せい活かつを支ささえるto support (someone's) livelihood
彼かの女じょのアルバイトが家か族ぞくの生せい活かつを支ささえている。
Her part-time job supports the family's livelihood.

Expressions· 7

生せい活かつの糧かてlivelihood; bread and butter
生せい活かつの質しつquality of life; QOL
二に拠きょ点てん生せい活かつdual-residence lifestyle; living in two places
生せい活かつに困こまるstruggle financially; live in poverty; have difficulty making ends meet
生せい活かつの本ほん拠きょprimary residence; domicile

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生せい活かつを送おくるlead a life; live a life
悠ゆう々ゆう自じ適てきの生せい活かつlife free from worldly cares; life of leisure and contentment

Kanji

生life, genuine, birth
活lively, resuscitation, being helped

Related words· 12

暮くらしN3sense 1
暮らし is a native Japanese word evoking a warm, personal sense of daily living, while 生活 is the neutral, often formal or economic term for life/living.
生せい計けいN1sense 2
生計 narrowly means the means of earning a living, while 生活 covers both the economic side and the broader daily-life sense.
人じん生せいN3sense 1
人生 refers to one's whole life span from birth to death with a philosophical tone, whereas 生活 focuses on the day-to-day routine of living.
ライフスタイル
生活 is the broad, everyday Japanese word for daily life or living in general, while ライフスタイル highlights the personal style, habits, and values behind that living.

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暮くらし振ぶりN2
生活 is the broad, neutral word for daily life or livelihood, while 暮らし振り zooms in on the particular style or condition in which someone lives.
暮くらすN4
生活する is a more formal, abstract word for living or leading a life, whereas 暮らす is the everyday, concrete verb.
ライフ
生活 focuses on daily living and livelihood, whereas ライフ is more abstract and often appears in compounds like ライフスタイル.
活かつN1
生活 is the standalone noun meaning 'life/living', whereas 活 in this sense only appears bound inside compounds such as 生活 itself.
日にち常じょう生せい活かつN3
生活 means 'life' or 'living' in a broad sense, whereas 日常生活 narrows it down to the everyday, routine aspects of that life.
営いとなみ
生活 is the plain word for 'life/living', whereas 営み is a more formal, literary term that highlights the ongoing activities that make up that life.
民みん生せい
生活 is the everyday, general word for a person's daily life, whereas 民生 is a formal administrative term for the collective livelihood/welfare of the citizenry.
生いき方かたN1
生活 refers to daily living or livelihood in a practical sense, whereas 生き方 emphasizes the manner or philosophy behind how one lives.

Don't confuse with

生しょう涯がいN1sense 1
生涯 means one's entire lifetime or career span, while 生活 means everyday living or livelihood, so learners can mix up the timeframe each word covers.
活かつ動どうN3
生活 shares the kanji 活 with 活動 but means 'daily life,' not 'activity,' so learners should not confuse the two despite the visual overlap.
死し活かつ
死活 (life-and-death stakes) and 生活 (everyday life/living) look similar but mean very different things—learners sometimes misread one for the other.

Word family· 116

食しょく生せい活かつN1
eating habits; diet; dietary pattern
私し生せい活かつ
private life; personal life
実じっ生せい活かつ
real life; actual life; everyday life
生せい活かつ苦く
hardships of life; financial struggles
生せい活かつ協きょう同どう組くみ合あい
consumers' cooperative; co-op

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生せい活かつ費ひN3
living expenses; cost of living
日にち常じょう生せい活かつN3
everyday life; daily life
住じゅう生せい活かつ
housing conditions; residential life; manner of housing
公こう生せい活かつ
public life
寮りょう生せい活かつ
dormitory life; life in a dorm
性せい生せい活かつ
sex life; sexual activities
新しん生せい活かつ
new life; fresh start; new routine
生せい活かつ力りょく
vitality; ability to earn a living
生せい活かつ史し
life cycle; life history
生せい活かつ圏けん
daily living sphere; neighborhood; zone of life

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Written forms

生せい活かつUsage100%
Standard kanji spelling; high-frequency word.
セイカツUsage0%

Etymology

A Sino-Japanese compound from Chinese 生活, combining 生 “live” and 活 “be active; sustain life.” It came to denote one’s manner or means of living and everyday life.