全身 (quán shēn) — the whole body; (typography) em | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Means 'the whole body' (全身都湿了 = wet all over). 浑身 is a closer, more emphatic synonym often used in vivid descriptions; 一身 focuses on the body in a single bound state (e.g. 一身汗).

noun

the whole body(typography) em

Examples

全身。
Tā quán shēn dōu shī le.
His whole body is wet.
全身。
Tā quán shēn chuān zhuó bái sè de yī fu.
She is wearing white clothes all over.
全身。
Yùn dòng hòu tā quán shēn dōu shì hàn.
After exercise, his whole body is covered in sweat.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

全 means 'whole' and 身 means 'body', so it covers the entire body.

Characters in this word

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

入入rù
玉玉yùjade

The shape puts 入 together with 玉 to show a whole piece of jade, so it means complete or whole.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 4 Body Parts 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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