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翻身 (fān shēn) — to turn over (while lying down); (figurative) to free oneself from oppression / poverty, to turn one's life around

Definition

翻身 literally means 'turn one's body over' in bed, and figuratively means to free oneself from oppression or poverty and turn one's life around. Distinguish from 翻 (just 'flip/turn over an object') and 脱身 (escape a task or obligation).

verb
to turn over (while lying down)(figurative) to free oneself from oppression / poverty, to turn one's life around

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā zài chuáng shàng fān le yí xià shēn, yòu shuì zháo le.
    He turned over in bed once and fell asleep again.
  • ，翻身。
    Gǎi gé kāi fàng hòu, hěn duō nóng mín zhōng yú fān shēn le.
    After the reform and opening-up, many farmers finally turned their lives around.
  • ，翻身。
    Tā yòng le shí nián cái huán qīng zhài wù, chè dǐ fān shēn le.
    It took her ten years to pay off her debts, and she completely freed herself.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

翻fānturn over
身shēnbody

翻 means to turn over, and 身 means body, so the picture is turning the body over.

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
羽羽yǔwings
Sound part声符shēngfú
番
番fān翻fān
Same sound today

翻 pairs 羽 (wings) with 番, which gives the sound. The shape shows something fluttering.

Open 翻 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Change & Process

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