HSK Guide

Radical 158the body; oneself, in person

shēn (first tone, high and level)

the body; oneself, in person

Radical 1587 strokes0 characters

Where the shape comes from

A body seen from the side, the belly drawn swollen and round — originally a pregnant body specifically, the fullest possible picture of embodiment, before the sense widened to the body in general and then to oneself, in person. It gives 身体, the body, and 本身, itself, in itself, and 单身, single, unattached, a body standing alone.

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