san1 sai3身世

Jyutpingsan1 sai3

Yalesān sai

Definition

One's life experience; one's lot; one's past history

neutralpeopledescriptions

How it's used

Focuses specifically on the history of a person's origins or the hardships they have endured throughout their life. It often carries a heavy, dramatic, or sympathetic undertone, frequently appearing in stories or when discussing someone's unfortunate past. It is rarely used to describe a simple professional resume or a standard biography.

Examples

keoi5 san1 sai3 hou2 caam2 sai3 sai3 go3 zau6 mou5 zo2 uk1 kei2 jan4

佢身世好慘，細細個就冇咗屋企人。

Their background is very sad; they lost their family when they were very young.

nei5 zi1 m4 zi1 keoi5 ge3 san1 sai3 hai6 dim2 joeng2 gaa4

你知唔知佢嘅身世係點樣㗎？

Do you know what their personal background is like?

Common phrases

san1 sai3 ho2 lin4

身世可憐

to have a pitiful life background

san1 sai3 piu1 ling4

身世飄零

to have a wandering and unstable life

Common mistake

Avoid using this to describe a professional background or work history, as those are better expressed as 背景 or 履歷. Using this word for a job application would sound overly dramatic and inappropriate.