守身 (shǒu shēn) — to preserve one's moral integrity or chastity

Definition

守身 means 'to preserve one's moral integrity (or chastity)' — a formal, literary verb about keeping oneself morally pure. Mostly seen in set phrases like 守身如玉.

verb
to preserve one's moral integrity or chastity

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā shǒu le yí bèi zi shēn, cóng lái méi yǒu zuò guò huài shì.
    She preserved her integrity all her life and never did anything wrong.
  • 守身，。
    Tā shǒu shēn rú yù, cóng bú zuò huài shì.
    He remains as pure as jade, never doing bad things.
  • 守身。
    Zài zhè ge shí dài shǒu shēn yuè lái yuè nán le.
    In this era, preserving one's integrity is getting harder and harder.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

守shǒukeep
身shēnbody

'守' means keep and '身' means body, so preserve one's body or integrity.

Characters in this word

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

  • 宀宀miánroof; building
  • 寸寸cùnhand

守 pairs 宀, a roof or building, with 寸, a hand, to show a hand guarding a place.

Open 守 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 身 comes from a drawing of a pregnant woman.

Open 身 →

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