Meaning
生气 means to become angry or to be in a state of anger. It's one of the most common ways to express anger or annoyance in everyday Chinese. The word literally combines 生 (to generate/produce) and 气 (breath/energy), suggesting the idea of producing negative energy or hot temper.
Usage
生气 is used in casual and formal contexts alike. It can describe both the action of becoming angry (我生气了 'I got angry') and the state of being angry (他很生气 'He is very angry'). Commonly used with 对 to indicate who you're angry at (对某人生气). It's moderate in intensity—stronger than 不高兴 but milder than 发怒.
Examples
- 01她对我生气了，因为我忘了她的生日。, .She got angry at me because I forgot her birthday.
- 02别生气，我只是开个玩笑。, .Don't be angry, I was just joking.
Characters
Common collocations
- 对...生气...to be angry at/with ...
- 很生气very angry
- 别生气don't be angry
- 惹人生气to make someone angry
Antonyms
Origin
The term combines 生 (to generate) with 气 (vital energy/breath). In traditional Chinese medicine and philosophy, anger was seen as an excess or disturbance of qi, so 生气 literally means 'to generate (negative) energy.'