Definition
实体 (shítǐ) refers to something with real, material existence — a legal entity, a physical store, or a substance (as opposed to virtual or conceptual). It differs from 实物 (shíwù 'concrete object'), which emphasizes a tangible item you can handle, and from 物体 (wùtǐ 'physical object'), a neutral term for any object in space.
noun
entity (e.g., legal entity, business entity)substancematerial thing (as opposed to virtual or conceptual)
Easily confused
- 尸体shī tǐsound-alikedead body; corpse
- 试题shì tísound-alikeexam question; test problem
Examples
- 实体，。Wǒmen gōngsī shì yí gè fǎlǜ shí tǐ, kěyǐ qiān hétong.Our company is a legal entity that can sign contracts.
- 实体，。shí tǐ diàn de dōngxi kěyǐ shìchuān, wǎng shàng mǎi bù xíng.In physical stores you can try things on; buying online doesn't allow that.
- 实体。Zhège jìhuà de shí tǐ hái zhǐshì yí gè gàiniàn.The substance of this plan is still just a concept.
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