卫生

• Pinyin: wèi shēng
• Hanzi breakdown: 卫 = simplified from 衛, meaning 'to guard'; 生 = pictograph of a plant growing from the ground, meaning 'life'

Meaning

Hygiene; sanitary; clean. Relates to cleanliness and health practices.

Used as both a noun (hygiene, sanitation) and an adjective (clean, hygienic). Very common in daily life: 卫生纸 (toilet paper), 卫生间 (bathroom), 公共卫生 (public health), 不卫生 (unhygienic).

Examples

1. 饭前要注意个人卫生。 Pay attention to personal hygiene before meals.
2. 这家餐厅的卫生条件很好。 This restaurant has very good sanitary conditions.
3. 孩子们要养成讲卫生的好习惯。 Children should develop good hygiene habits.

Usage Guide

Context: health, everyday, food

Tone: advisory

Do Say

• 请保持教室的卫生。(Please keep the classroom clean.)
• 这个地方不太卫生。(This place is not very hygienic.)

Don't Say

• 你很卫生。(It sounds odd to describe a person as 卫生 — say 你很爱干净 or 你很讲卫生 instead.)

Origin & History

卫 means 'to guard' or 'to protect' and 生 means 'life'. Together they mean 'protecting life' — hygiene and sanitation.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal