生存|せいぞんseizon[0]heiban (flat)
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- noun, suru verb, intransitive verbexistence; being; life; survival
Conjugation
| Dictionary form | 生存する(せいぞんする) |
|---|---|
| Polite (masu) | 生存します(せいぞんします) |
| Negative (nai) | 生存しない(せいぞんしない) |
| polite (masen) | 生存しません(せいぞんしません) |
| classical zu / nu | 生存せず・生存せぬ(せいぞんせず・せいぞんせぬ) |
| Past (ta) | 生存した(せいぞんした) |
| polite (mashita) | 生存しました(せいぞんしました) |
| Past negative (nakatta) | 生存しなかった(せいぞんしなかった) |
| polite (masen deshita) | 生存しませんでした(せいぞんしませんでした) |
| Te form | 生存して(せいぞんして) |
| Potential | 生存できる(せいぞんできる) |
| Passive | 生存される(せいぞんされる) |
| Causative | 生存させる(せいぞんさせる) |
| Causative passive | 生存させられる(せいぞんさせられる) |
| Conditional (ba) | 生存すれば(せいぞんすれば) |
| tara | 生存したら(せいぞんしたら) |
| Volitional | 生存しよう(せいぞんしよう) |
| polite (mashou) | 生存しましょう(せいぞんしましょう) |
| Imperative | 生存しろ(せいぞんしろ) |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
- Synonym生きるいきるNeutralThe everyday verb for being alive or living; by far the most common word. 「生存」 is a noun that states the fact of being alive objectively, as in 「生存者」 and 「生存率」.
- Synonym生息せいそくWrittenWritten word for creatures living in a place, animals or plants alike, as in 「生息地」. 「生存」 stresses the fact of staying alive, not where something lives.
- Synonym存命ぞんめいWrittenWritten word meaning someone is still among the living, used of people, as in 「存命中」. 「生存」 is more objective and can apply to other living things too.
- SynonymサバイバルNeutralLoanword for surviving in extreme conditions, as in 「サバイバルゲーム」. 「生存」 is the ordinary, objective term for being alive.
- Synonym在世ざいせいWrittenWritten word for a person being alive in this world, as in 「在世中」; it refers to the time before death. 「生存」 focuses on being alive itself, not limited to people.
- Related生き延びるいきのびるNeutralVerb for making it through danger and living on; the nuance is getting past a crisis. 「生存」 is a noun that simply names the state of being alive.
- Related生き残りいきのこりNeutralNoun for the fact of surviving, and also for a survivor or a leftover relic of the past. 「生存」 refers only to being alive, not to who or what remains.
- Related生き残るいきのこるNeutralVerb for surviving when others have died, also common figuratively, as in surviving competition. 「生存」 is the noun for the state of being alive.
- Related残存ざんぞんWrittenWritten word for what remains without vanishing; not just living things, and it can mean survival. 「生存」 is about life continuing, as in 「企業の生存」.
- Related生き抜くいきぬくNeutralVerb for enduring hardship and living on to the very end, with a strong note of willpower. 「生存」 merely states objectively that something is alive.
- Related生きながらえるいきながらえるWrittenWritten verb for living on or living to a ripe old age. 「生存」 is a noun that objectively describes the state of being alive.
- Related生残せいざんWrittenRare written word for surviving. In everyday use 「生き残り」 is the normal choice; 「生存」 states the fact of being alive itself.
- Antonym死亡しぼうNeutralThe standard word for death, used of people and animals, common in statistics and news reports. It is the direct life-and-death opposite of 「生存」.
- Antonym死去しきょWrittenWritten word for the death of a person, typical of obituaries and news reports. It stands at the life-and-death opposite of 「生存」.
- Antonym滅亡めつぼうWrittenThe downfall or extinction of a nation, ethnic group or other collective as a whole. It is the opposite of 「生存」, which is about life continuing.
Use 「生存」 for the objective state of being alive, as in 「生存者」 and 「生存競争」. In daily speech, 「生きる」 is the word for living. For getting through danger, use 「生き延びる」; for surviving when others do not, 「生き残る」; for extreme situations, 「サバイバル」. Formal prose about people still living favors 「存命」, 「在世」 and 「生きながらえる」; the antonyms are 「死亡」, 「死去」 and 「滅亡」.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only


