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缠身 (chán shēn) — to preoccupy, to weigh heavily on (one's mind or body, of problems, illness, worries)

Definition

缠身 means 'to weigh on / preoccupy' and is used for problems, debts, or illnesses that cling to a person. It is intransitive: the subject is what entangles you, never a person.

verb
to preoccupyto weigh heavily on (one's mind or body, of problems, illness, worries)

Examples

  • 缠身，。
    Tā zuì jìn fán shì chán shēn, qíng xù hěn dī luò.
    He's been preoccupied with annoying matters lately and is in low spirits.
  • 缠身。
    Zhài wù chán shēn ràng tā rì yè bù néng ān mián.
    Being entangled in debt keeps him from sleeping peacefully day and night.
  • ，，。
    Zì cóng jiē shǒu zhè ge xiàng mù, gōng zuò jiù chán le shēn, yì zhí méi xiū xi guò.
    Ever since I took on this project, work has entangled me, and I haven't had a break.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

缠chánentangle
身shēnbody

缠 entangling the 身 body means to weigh heavily on someone.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 纏; 缠 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìsilk
Sound part声符shēngfú
廛
廛chán纏chán
Same sound today

The traditional form 纏 combines 糸 (silk) with 廛 as the sound part; the simplified 缠 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 缠 →

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
Abstract Concepts

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