繁衍生息
fán yǎn shēng xī
to live and multiply (of a people or a species, over generations)
Character by character
繁fán
multiply
multiply
衍yǎn
spread
spread
生shēng
live
live
息xī
breathe
breathe
Example
黄河流域土地肥沃，古人很早就在这里繁衍生息。
The Yellow River basin has fertile land, and people have lived and multiplied there since ancient times.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
A written phrase for peoples, clans and species living in one place generation after generation, often 世世代代在这里繁衍生息. 生息 here means living and multiplying, not earning interest.
Learn this in Lesson 24 · HSK 5: 大熊猫：从濒危到易危 (How the giant panda was saved)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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