伸长 (shēn cháng) — to stretch, to extend, to elongate | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A physical verb meaning to stretch or lengthen a body part or object. Usually takes a body-part object (脖子、手臂) and often pairs with direction complements like 向前.

verb

to stretchto extendto elongate

Examples

伸长。
Tā shēn cháng bó zi kàn chuāng wài.
He stretched his neck to look out the window.
伸长。
Xiǎo māo shēn cháng le shēn tǐ shài tài yáng.
The kitten stretched its body to sunbathe.
伸长。
Qǐng bǎ shǒu bì xiàng qián shēn cháng.
Please extend your arm forward.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

伸shēnstretch

伸 “stretch” + 长 “long” gives the sense of stretching until something becomes longer.

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.

亻申伸

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.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 長; 长 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 長 pictures an old man with long hair. The simplified 长 is a later shorthand, so its strokes do not show that original picture.

Appears in

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