Kilo Lingo

(shēn tǐ) - body; health in Mandarin

shēn

Traditional: 身體

Line drawing of 身体
Coloured illustration of 身体
HSK 2
#631 of 5,000 Core 1000

Translation

body; health

Word origin

身体 (shēn tǐ) pairs 身 (shēn), 'body', a pictograph of a human torso, with 体 (tǐ), 'body' or 'form', the person radical 亻 with 本 'root'. The compound means 'body' and, by extension, 'health'.

Origin
compound
Root
身 (shēn, body) + 体 (tǐ, 亻person radical + 本)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 身

Stroke order for 体

Examples

You need to take good care of your health.

Health is the foundation of everything.

His health is very good.

Daily exercise is good for the body.

His body has not been feeling well lately.

身体 (shēn tǐ) means body or health. 身 refers to the body or self and 体 means body or substance. In context, 身体 can mean the physical body (身体检查, physical examination) or health as a state (身体好, good health; 身体不舒服, not feeling well). The common expression 身体是革命的本钱 (health is the capital for revolution) is a Mao-era saying still used to emphasise the importance of health. Asking 身体怎么样? is a caring way to enquire about someone's wellbeing.

Used in

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This word is part of lesson 13.