Word

身 (shēn) — Chinese word meaning

HSK 4

Meaning of 身

名 míng noun

body

他身体很好。

tā shēn tǐ hěn hǎo

His health is very good.

量 liàng measure word

suit (measure word for clothing sets)

他买了一身新衣服。

tā mǎi le yì shēn xīn yī fu

He bought a new suit of clothes.

Word breakdown

身 shēn — body

1 身体 shēn tǐ — body HSK 2
- 身 body, person
- 体 body, form
Example

他的身体很健康。

tā de shēn tǐ hěn jiàn kāng

His body is very healthy.
2 身边 shēn biān — by one's side, around HSK 3
- 身 body, self
- 边 side, edge
Example

父母总是守护在孩子身边。

fù mǔ zǒng shì shǒu hù zài hái zi shēn biān

Parents always stay by their children's side.
3 身高 shēn gāo — height HSK 3
- 身 body
- 高 tall, high
Example

他的身高是180厘米。

tā de shēn gāo shì yī bǎi bā shí lí mǐ

His height is 180 centimeters.
4 健身 jiàn shēn — to work out HSK 4
- 健 to strengthen, to build up
- 身 body
Example

为了保持健康，我每周健身三次。

wèi le bǎo chí jiàn kāng wǒ měi zhōu jiàn shēn sān cì

To stay healthy, I work out three times a week.
5 健身房 jiàn shēn fáng — gym HSK 4
- 健 healthy, fitness, to strengthen
- 身 body
- 房 room, building, facility
Example

我每天早上去健身房锻炼。

wǒ měi tiān zǎo shang qù jiàn shēn fáng duàn liàn

I go to the gym to exercise every morning.

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6 全身 quán shēn — whole body HSK 4
- 全 whole, entire, complete
- 身 body
Example

他全身湿透了。

tā quán shēn shī tòu le

He is soaked all over.
7 身份证 shēn fèn zhèng — ID card HSK 4
- 身 body, person, self (forms 'identity' with 份)
- 份 status, identity (completes 'identity' with 身)
- 证 certificate, card, proof document
Example

请出示您的身份证。

qǐng chū shì nín de shēn fèn zhèng

Please show your ID card.
8 自身 zì shēn — oneself HSK 5
- 自 self, indicates reflexivity
- 身 body, self, the person or entity itself
Example

我们要不断提高自身的能力。

wǒ men yào bú duàn tí gāo zì shēn de néng lì

We must continuously improve our own abilities.
9 身份 shēn fèn — identity HSK 5
- 身 body, person, self
- 份 status, position, role
Example

他的身份很特殊。

tā de shēn fèn hěn tè shū

His identity is very special.
10 身材 shēn cái — figure HSK 5
- 身 body
- 材 build, form
Example

他一直保持着良好的身材。

tā yì zhí bǎo chí zhe liáng hǎo de shēn cái

He has always maintained a good figure.
11 一身 yì shēn — whole body; all over one's body HSK 6
- 一 whole; entire
- 身 body
Example

雨后他一身都湿透了。

yǔ hòu tā yì shēn dōu shī tòu le

After the rain, his whole body was soaked through.
12 本身 běn shēn — itself HSK 6
- 本 original, fundamental, basic
- 身 self, entity, body
Example

这个问题本身并不复杂。

zhè ge wèn tí běn shēn bìng bù fù zá

This problem itself is not complicated.
13 终身 zhōng shēn — lifelong HSK 6
- 终 entire, whole, complete (throughout)
- 身 life, lifetime
Example

他获得了终身成就奖。

tā huó dé le zhōng shēn chéng jiù jiǎng

He received a lifetime achievement award.
14 身心 shēn xīn — body and mind HSK 6
- 身 body, physical
- 心 mind, mental, spirit
Example

旅行可以放松身心。

lǚ xíng kě yǐ fàng sōng shēn xīn

Travel can relax the body and mind.
15 转身 zhuǎn shēn — to turn around HSK 6
- 转 to turn, to rotate
- 身 body, oneself
Example

她转身离开了房间。

tā zhuǎn shēn lí kāi le fáng jiān

She turned around and left the room.
16 亲身 qīn shēn — firsthand, personal HSK 7
- 亲 personal, direct, intimate
- 身 self, body, oneself
Example

他亲身经历了这场灾难。

tā qīn shēn jīng lì le zhè chǎng zāi nàn

He personally experienced this disaster.
17 人身 rén shēn — personal (relating to one's person or body) HSK 7
- 人 person, human (establishes the subject as relating to people)
- 身 body, physical person (emphasizes the bodily and physical aspect)
Example

人身安全很重要。

rén shēn ān quán hěn zhòng yào

Personal safety is very important.
18 以身作则 yǐ shēn zuò zé — lead by example HSK 7
- 以 by means of, with
- 身 oneself, one's own conduct
- 作 to make, to serve as
- 则 standard, example, model
Example

作为领导，他总是以身作则。

zuò wéi lǐng dǎo tā zǒng shì yǐ shēn zuò zé

As a leader, he always leads by example.
19 全身心 quán shēn xīn — wholeheartedly HSK 7
- 全 complete, entire
- 身 body, physical self
- 心 heart, mind, spirit
Example

他全身心投入到工作中。

tā quán shēn xīn tóu rù dào gōng zuò zhōng

He throws himself wholeheartedly into his work.
20 出身 chū shēn — to be born into; family background HSK 7
- 出 to come out, to emerge from
- 身 oneself, one's person or identity
Example

他出身于一个农民家庭。

tā chū shēn yú yí gè nóng mín jiā tíng

He was born into a peasant family.
21 切身 qiè shēn — personal, directly affecting oneself HSK 7
- 切 close, direct, immediate
- 身 self, person, body
Example

这件事关系到我们的切身利益。

zhè jiàn shì guān xì dào wǒ men de qiè shēn lì yì

This matter concerns our personal interests.
22 动身 dòng shēn — to set out HSK 7
- 动 to move, to start moving
- 身 body, oneself
Example

我们明天早上六点动身去北京。

wǒ men míng tiān zǎo shang liù diǎn dòng shēn qù Běi jīng

We set out for Beijing at six o'clock tomorrow morning.
23 化身 huà shēn — incarnation HSK 7
- 化 to transform, to change into
- 身 body, bodily form
Example

他是正义的化身。

tā shì zhèng yì de huà shēn

He is the incarnation of justice.
24 单身 dān shēn — to be single HSK 7
- 单 single, alone
- 身 person, self
Example

我现在还单身。

wǒ xiàn zài hái dān shēn

I am still single now.
25 投身 tóu shēn — to devote oneself to HSK 7
- 投 to throw, to commit
- 身 oneself, one's person
Example

他决定投身教育事业。

tā jué dìng tóu shēn jiào yù shì yè

He decided to devote himself to the education career.
26 浑身 hún shēn — all over HSK 7
- 浑 whole, entire
- 身 body
Example

下雨后我浑身都湿透了。

xià yǔ hòu wǒ hún shēn dōu shī tòu le

After the rain, I was soaked all over.
27 独身 dú shēn — single, unmarried HSK 7
- 独 alone, single
- 身 person, self
Example

他一直独身，没有结婚。

tā yì zhí dú shēn méi yǒu jié hūn

He has always been single and never married.
28 翻身 fān shēn — turn over; free oneself from oppression HSK 7
- 翻 turn over, overturn (the action of change)
- 身 body, oneself, one's status (what is being turned/changed)
Example

经过多年努力，他终于翻身了。

jīng guò duō nián nǔ lì tā zhōng yú fān shēn le

After many years of effort, he finally freed himself.
29 脱身 tuō shēn — to extricate oneself; to get away HSK 7
- 脱 to escape, to break free
- 身 oneself, one's body/person
Example

我实在无法脱身，不能参加你的聚会。

wǒ shí zài wú fǎ tuō shēn bù néng cān jiā nǐ de jù huì

I really can't get away, so I can't attend your gathering.
30 藏身 cáng shēn — to hide (oneself) HSK 7
- 藏 to hide, to conceal
- 身 body, oneself
Example

小偷藏身在废弃的仓库里。

xiǎo tōu cáng shēn zài fèi qì de cāng kù lǐ

The thief hid in an abandoned warehouse.
31 身不由己 shēn bù yóu jǐ — beyond one's control; involuntary; unable to act of one's own free will HSK 7
- 身 body, oneself, one's person
- 不 not (negation marker)
- 由 by, from, through (indicates agency or source)
- 己 self, oneself (emphasizes personal agency)
Example

在那种情况下，我也是身不由己。

zài nà zhǒng qíng kuàng xià wǒ yě shì shēn bù yóu jǐ

In that situation, I also had no choice.
32 身价 shēn jià — worth, value HSK 7
- 身 person, self
- 价 price, value
Example

这位明星的身价很高。

zhè wèi míng xīng de shēn jià hěn gāo

This celebrity's worth is very high.
33 身子 shēn zi — body HSK 7
- 身 body, physical self
- 子 colloquial suffix (makes the word informal)
Example

她身子虚弱，需要休息。

tā shēn zi xū ruò xū yào xiū xi

She is weak and needs rest.
34 身影 shēn yǐng — figure, silhouette HSK 7
- 身 body, physical form
- 影 shadow, image, reflection
Example

她的身影一直留在我的记忆中。

tā de shēn yǐng yī zhí liú zài wǒ de jì yì zhōng

Her figure has always remained in my memory.
35 身躯 shēn qū — body HSK 7
- 身 body (provides the core meaning)
- 躯 body/trunk (reinforces and adds formal tone)
Example

尽管年纪大了，他的身躯依然很健康。

jǐn guǎn nián jì dà le tā de shēn qū yī rán hěn jiàn kāng

Despite being old, his body is still very healthy.
36 随身 suí shēn — carry with one HSK 7
- 随 follow, accompany
- 身 body, person
Example

他总是随身携带护照。

tā zǒng shì suí shēn xié dài hù zhào

He always carries his passport with him.