HSK 6

活该 (huó gāi) — how to say "serve you" in Chinese

活该

Serve you/him right, deserved it

verb

Character composition

活

to live, life

该

should, ought to

Radicals / Keys

水

Water

#85 · shuǐ · 4 strokes

言

Speech

#149 · yán · 7 strokes

Collocations

活该受罚

huó gāi shòu fá

deserve to be punished

Examples

他考试没准备,不及格活该。

He didn't prepare for the exam, so failing it serves him right.

他活该。

He deserved it.

Writing

Frequently asked questions

How do you say "serve you" in Chinese?

"serve you" in Chinese is 活该 (huó gāi).

活该 meaning in English

活该 (huó gāi) means "Serve you/him right, deserved it".

How is 活该 pronounced?

It is pronounced huó gāi (written as huo gai, huogai). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.

How do you write "serve you" in Chinese characters?

It is written 活该: 活 has 9 strokes, 该 has 8 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order of each character and lets you trace it.

What HSK level is 活该?

活该 belongs to the HSK 6 vocabulary list.

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