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切身 (qiè shēn) — (adjective) personal, firsthand; directly concerning oneself

Definition

切身 emphasizes that something directly affects or involves YOU personally — common in 切身利益, 切身感受. 亲身 stresses doing something yourself ('in person, firsthand').

adjective
personalfirsthanddirectly concerning oneself

Examples

  • 切身。
    Zhè jiàn shì guān xì dào dà jiā de qiè shēn lì yì.
    This matter concerns everyone's direct interests.
  • 切身，。
    Zhǐ yǒu qiè shēn jīng lì guò, cái néng zhēn zhèng lǐ jiě.
    Only by experiencing it firsthand can you truly understand.
  • 切身。
    Zhè bù xiǎo shuō jiǎng shù le yí gè qiè shēn de gù shi.
    This novel tells a story that is close to one's own experience.

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.

切qièclose
身shēnself

切 as close and 身 as self combine to mean closely connected with 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
刀刀dāoknife
Sound part声符shēngfú
七
七qī切qiè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 切, the 刀 (knife) part is joined to 七, which gives the sound.

Open 切 →

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 7-9Abstract Concepts

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.