伸 (shēn): to stretch, to extend
伸 (shēn) is a Chinese character meaning “to stretch.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 亻 (structural) and 申 (structural). It ranks #1159 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 伸 to extend your confidence 申 to another person 亻; 申 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 亻 (person) appears in many related characters such as 人 (rén, person), 什 (shén, what), 今 (jīn, now).
Definitions
- to stretch
- to extend
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTo extend your confidence 申 to another person 亻; 申 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿰亻申 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 伸 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 伸
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 伸出 | shēn chū | to extend |
| 伸展 | shēn zhǎn | stretching |
| 伸手 | shēn shǒu | to reach out with one's hand |
| 伸张 | shēn zhāng | to uphold (e.g. justice or virtue) |
| 伸直 | shēn zhí | to straighten |
| 伸长 | shēn cháng | to stretch |
| 伸缩 | shēn suō | to lengthen and shorten |
| 伸懒腰 | shēn lǎn yāo | to stretch oneself (on waking or when tired etc) |
| 能屈能伸 | néng qū néng shēn | can bow and submit, or can stand tall (idiom, from Book of Changes) |
| 伸冤 | shēn yuān | to right wrongs |
| 伸手不见五指 | shēn shǒu bù jiàn wǔ zhǐ | pitch-dark (idiom) |
| 拉伸强度 | lā shēn qiáng dù | tensile strength |
| 伸手派 | shēn shǒu pài | freeloader |
| 伸开 | shēn kāi | to stretch out (one's arms or legs etc) |
| 大丈夫能屈能伸 | dà zhàng fu néng qū néng shēn | A leader can submit or can stand tall as required. |
伸 appears in 30 compound words: 73 as the first character, 17 as the last, and 10 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 伸 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
他伸出手来，友好地和我握了握手。
Tā shēn chū shǒu lái, yǒuhǎo de hé wǒ wò le wò shǒu.
He reached out his hand and shook hands with me in a friendly manner.
台中色阿公手伸进7岁孙女内裤 媳妇惊睹直言“恶心”下场...
tái zhōng sè ā gōng shǒu shēn jìn 7 suì sūn nǚ nèi kù xí fù jīng dǔ zhí yán è xīn xià chǎng . . .
Taichung's grandfather reached into his 7-year-old granddaughter's underwear, and his daughter-in-law was shocked to see the blunt "disgusting" end...
竹市汀甫圳步道改善工程完工 议员促延伸“樱花小径”
zhú shì 汀 甫 圳 bù dào gǎi shàn gōng chéng wán gōng yì yuán cù yán shēn 樱 huā xiǎo jìng
The improvement project of the Tingfuzhen Trail in Zhu City was completed, and the lawmakers urged the extension of the "cherry blossom trail"
美日磋商延伸威懾 聚焦中國增強核戰力
měi rì cuō shāng yán shēn wēi 懾 jù jiāo zhōng 國 zēng 強 hé 戰 lì
U.S.-Japan Talks on Extended Deterrence Focus on China's Growing Nuclear Capabilities
WBC/山本由伸預計對中華隊 親談「經典賽備戰」這麼說
shān běn yóu shēn 預 計 對 zhōng 華 隊 親 談 經 diǎn 賽 備 戰 這 麼 說
WBC/Yoshinobu Yamamoto Expected to Face Chinese Taipei Team He Speaks Personally on "World Baseball Classic Preparation"
父親睹兒子從陽台墮下 伸手成功接住
fù 親 dǔ 兒 zǐ 從 陽 tái 墮 xià shēn shǒu chéng gōng jiē zhù
Father sees son fall from balcony, reaches out and catches him.
猫弓起背，伸了个懒腰。
Māo gōng qǐ bèi, shēn le gè lǎnyāo.
The cat arched its back and stretched itself.
他伸直了他的手臂。
Tā shēnzhí le tā de shǒubì.
He stretched his arm.
年轻人伸出他的手，接着我和他握了手。
Niánqīngrén shēnchū tā de shǒu, jiēzhe wǒ hé tā wò le shǒu.
The young man put out his hand and I shook it.
琳达把舌头伸了出来。
Lín dá bǎ shétou shēn le chūlái.
Linda stuck her tongue out.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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