Where 身 comes from
A pregnant woman
How to write 身 (shēn, “body”)
身 (shēn), an HSK 2 character, means “body”, “life” and “oneself”. It is HSK 2 in the 2025 syllabus, up from level 1 in the 2021 standard. It is a picture-like character. On its own it is an HSK 4 word; it also forms 身体 (“the body”), 身边 (“at one's side”) and 身高 (“(a person's) height”). Japanese reads it shin, “somebody”.
- Pinyin
- shēn
- Strokes
- 7
- HSK
- 2
- Radical
- 身 (“body”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- topdown and right → down and left
- top leftdownwards
- toprightwards → downwards
- toprightwards
- centerrightwards
- leftrightwards
- top rightdown and left
Japanese and Chinese
The two models differ in shape, so our comparison does not claim an order; compare the numbered frames yourself (7 strokes in Japanese, 7 strokes in Chinese).
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| shēn first tone | body; life; oneself; personally; one's morality and conduct | — | 身体 身边 身高 健身 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 2
- 2021 standard
- level 1
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 2 word
- Words with it
- 290 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 身
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 身 | shēn | body; life HSK 4 |
| 身体 身體 | shēntǐ | the body; one's health HSK 2 |
| 身边 身邊 | shēnbiān | at one's side; on hand HSK 3 |
| 身高 | shēngāo | (a person's) height HSK 3 |
| 健身 | jiànshēn | to exercise; to keep fit HSK 4 |
| 全身 | quánshēn | the whole body; (typography) em HSK 4 |
| 健身房 | jiànshēnfáng | gym; fitness club HSK 4 |
| 身份证 身份證 | shēnfènzhèng | identity card; ID HSK 4 |
| 自身 | zìshēn | itself; oneself HSK 5 |
| 身份 | shēnfèn | identity; aspect of one's identity HSK 5 |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
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Keep going
HSK 2, in list order: