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HSK 2

身体

body; health

nounneutral3 episodes
身
shēn1st tone
体
tǐ3rd tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
shēntǐ
Part of speech
noun
Level
HSK 2
Strokes
14
Register
neutral
Measure word
个
In episodes
3

Stroke order for 身体

身体 is written with 14 strokes (身: 7, 体: 7). The animation replays automatically.

What does 身体 mean?

身体 (shēntǐ) means both 'body' and 'health' — two senses English splits into separate words but Chinese fuses into one.

Concretely it is the physical body (身体很高 'tall body'), but in everyday conversation it more often means general health: 你身体好吗? is not 'is your body good?' but 'how is your health?' / 'how are you?' Compared with English, 身体 is the default polite check-in for wellbeing, especially with older people; saying 注意身体 ('take care of your health') as you part ways is as common as 'take care' in English.

For medical conditions and clinical states, switch to 健康 (jiànkāng, 'healthy / health' as a more formal noun). 身体 is also the word a doctor will ask about: 你身体哪儿不舒服? ('Where on your body is uncomfortable / what's wrong?').

Character by character

身shēnbody; oneself
+
体tǐbody; form
=
身体

Memory hook: 身 and 体 both already mean 'body' — 身体 doubles up for the modern two-syllable noun.

Hear 身体 in real episodes

身体 appears in 3 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed — each with the full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.

Doctors said he would only live to twelve, but this Belgian blogger lived to twenty-eight.身体 spoken at natural speedbeginnerHe Took Drugs, Drank Over 20 a Day, Never Trained Once — and Came Last the First Time He Ever Competed in Bodybuilding身体 spoken at natural speedbeginnerHe Took Drugs, Drank Over 20 a Day, Never Trained at All — He Placed Last at His First Bodybuilding Show身体 spoken at natural speedeasy
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Example sentences

他身体很好。

Tā shēntǐ hěn hǎo.

He's in great health.

neutral

你最近身体怎么样？

Nǐ zuìjìn shēntǐ zěnmeyàng?

How has your health been lately?

spoken, polite

天气冷了，注意身体。

Tiānqì lěng le, zhùyì shēntǐ.

The weather's getting cold — take care of yourself.

spoken

我每天早上锻炼身体。

Wǒ měi tiān zǎoshang duànliàn shēntǐ.

I exercise every morning.

neutral

Common phrases with 身体

身体好shēntǐ hǎoin good health
身体不好shēntǐ bù hǎoin poor health
注意身体zhùyì shēntǐtake care of your health
身体健康shēntǐ jiànkāng(wishing) good health
锻炼身体duànliàn shēntǐto exercise / work out

Synonyms

健康jiànkāng

健康 ('healthy / health') is the abstract concept and adjective. 身体 is the body itself and, by extension, your physical condition. 'He's in good health' = 他身体很好 or 他很健康; the first is more conversational.

Don't confuse 身体 with

生病shēngbìng

生病 is a verb meaning 'to fall ill.' 身体 is the noun 'body / health.' Don't say 身体了 to mean 'got sick' — use 生病了.

身shēn

身 by itself is rare in modern speech and tends to mean 'oneself' or 'the body of (something)' in compounds (转身 'turn around'). Always use 身体 for the everyday meaning.

FAQ

Related words from the same episodes

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Acquire it by listening

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