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伸出 (shēn chū) — to stretch out; to extend (a body part or object)

Definition

A directional verb: stretch or reach a body part outward, usually toward something. Pairs with 援手 / 手 / 头, and takes a directional complement like 出去 or 出来.

verb
to stretch outto extend (a body part or object)

Examples

  • 伸出。
    Tā shēn chū shǒu qù gòu shū jià zuì shàng céng de shū.
    He stretched out his hand to reach the books on the top shelf.
  • 伸出，。
    Xiǎo gǒu cóng zhǐ xiāng lǐ shēn chū tóu lái, hào qí dì kàn zhe wǒ.
    The puppy stuck its head out of the cardboard box and looked at me curiously.
  • ，伸出。
    Zài kùn nan de shí hou, tā xiàng wǒ men shēn chū le yuán shǒu.
    In times of difficulty, he reached out a helping hand to us.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

伸shēnstretch
出chūout

伸 gives the idea of stretching and 出 gives the direction out, so it means stretch out.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
申
申shēn伸shēn
Same sound today

伸 puts 亻, the side form of 人 (person), next to 申, which gives the sound.

Open 伸 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

出 combines 止 (foot) and 凵 (cave) to show a foot stepping out of a cave.

Open 出 →
Appears in
Body Parts

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