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容身 (róng shēn) — to have a place to live; to find shelter; (figurative) to find a niche or foothold

Definition

Literally 'to accommodate one's body', 容身 emphasizes having a basic place to stay or take shelter — a more physical, survival-level sense than finding a niche. Often appears in the negative 容身之地 ('no place to call one's own').

verb
to have a place to liveto find shelter(figurative) to find a niche or foothold

Examples

  • 容身。
    Tā zài zhè ge chéng shì wú fǎ róng shēn.
    He can't find a place to live in this city.
  • ，。
    Zhè jiān wū zi tài xiǎo le, gēn běn róng bú xià shēn.
    This room is so small there's no room to stay.
  • 容身。
    Liú làng hàn zài qiáo xià róng shēn.
    The homeless man shelters under the bridge.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

容róngcontain
身shēnbody

容 means to contain or admit, and 身 is the body; together they express finding a place for oneself.

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
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
公
公gōng容róng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 容, the 宀 (roof) part points to holding or containing, and 公 gives the sound.

Open 容 →

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 →
Appears in
Home & Housing

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