身 (shēn): body, life, oneself
身 (shēn) is a Chinese character meaning “body.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), with radical 身 (body). It ranks #164 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 身 a pregnant woman. Its radical form 身 (body) appears in many related characters such as 躺 (tǎng, to recline), 躲 (duǒ, to hide), 躬 (gōng, (literary) body (of a human, esp. the torso)).
Definitions
- body
- life
- oneself
Etymology & Origin
pictographicA pregnant woman
Stroke Order
Practice writing 身 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 身
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 身体noun | shēn tǐ | the body | 2 |
| 身边noun | shēn biān | at one's side | 3 |
| 身份noun | shēn fèn | identity | 5 |
| 全身noun | quán shēn | the whole body | 4 |
| 身材noun | shēn cái | stature | 5 |
| 本身pronoun | běn shēn | itself | 6 |
| 转身verb | zhuǎn shēn | (of a person) to turn round | 6 |
| 身份证noun | shēn fèn zhèng | identity card | 4 |
| 健身verb | jiàn shēn | to exercise | 4 |
| 终身noun | zhōng shēn | lifelong | 6 |
| 自身noun | zì shēn | itself | 5 |
| 健身房noun | jiàn shēn fáng | gym | 4 |
| 身高noun | shēn gāo | (a person's) height | 3 |
| 身心noun | shēn xīn | body and mind | 6 |
| 一身noun | yī shēn | whole body | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 身上 | shēn shang | on the body |
| 单身 | dān shēn | unmarried |
| 身后 | shēn hòu | the time after one's death |
| 浑身 | hún shēn | all over |
| 藏身 | cáng shēn | to hide |
| 身亡 | shēn wáng | to die |
| 热身 | rè shēn | to warm up (sports) |
| 人身 | rén shēn | person |
| 合身 | hé shēn | well-fitting (of clothes) |
| 出身 | chū shēn | to be born of |
| 身手 | shēn shǒu | skill |
| 动身 | dòng shēn | to go on a journey |
| 上身 | shàng shēn | upper part of the body |
| 紧身 | jǐn shēn | skintight |
| 化身 | huà shēn | incarnation |
身 appears in 100 compound words: 28 as the first character, 71 as the last, and 1 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 身 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (54)
to display all of one's capabilities; to strut one's stuff; to show off one's skills
to get off one's high horse; to dispense with posturing (and adopt a more humble or empathetic attitude)
Showing 12 of 54 idioms containing 身.
Example Sentences
了解身字的来源，有助于理解中国文化。
le xiè shēn zì de lái yuán , yǒu zhù yú lǐ xiè zhōng guó wén huā .
Understanding the origin of the character "身" (body) helps to comprehend Chinese culture.
力积电 变身AI供应链整合者
lì jī diàn biàn shēn A I gōng yīng liàn zhěng gě zhě
PSMC transforms into an AI supply chain integrator
快讯/闯入川普海湖庄园遭击毙 21岁嫌身分曝光!家人才刚报失踪
kuài xùn chuǎng rù chuān pǔ hǎi hú zhuāng yuán zāo jī bì 2 1 suì xián shēn fēn pù guāng ! jiā rén cái gāng bào shī zōng
News/Breaking into Trump's Mar-a-Lago was killed and the identity of the 21-year-old suspect was exposed! The family has just been reported missing
倒酱油、拌肉馅,看春晚机器人化身“新春大厨”
dǎo jiàng yóu , bàn ròu xiàn , kàn chūn wǎn jī qì rén huà shēn xīn chūn dà chú
Pour soy sauce, mix meat filling, and watch the Spring Festival Gala robot transform into a "New Year chef"
“新春走基层·春节我在岗”这个春节,她的身影真美!
xīn chūn zǒu jī céng chūn jié wǒ zài gǎng zhè gè chūn jié , tā de shēn yǐng zhēn měi !
"New Year to the grassroots, I am at work during the Spring Festival", her figure is so beautiful!
致敬坚守者:宝山这些身影温暖了我们的团圆年|在宝山..
zhì jìng jiān shǒu zhě : bǎo shān zhè xiē shēn yǐng wēn nuǎn le wǒ men de tuán yuán nián zài bǎo shān . .
Salute to the perseverance: These figures of Baoshan warmed our reunion year|In Baoshan:
你身体一直非常好，怎么突然间住医院了？
Nǐ shēntǐ yīzhí fēicháng hǎo, zěnme tūránjiān zhù yīyuàn le?
Your body was always very healthy; why are you suddenly in the hospital?
你身上有很多钱吗？
Nǐ shēnshang yǒu hěn duō qián ma?
Are you carrying a lot of money?
你怎么什么责任都往别人身上推？
Nǐ zěnme shénme zérèn dōu wǎng biéren shēnshang tuī?
Why are you pushing all responsibilities to others?
你今天去不去健身房？
Nǐ jīntiān qù bù qù jiànshēnfáng?
Are you going to the gym today?
Character Family
身 Radical Family — Characters sharing the body radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 身 (shēn) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 身 have?
What is the radical of 身?
What are common words containing 身?
What characters sound the same as 身 (shēn)?
Is 身 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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