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本身 (běn shēn) — (pronoun) itself, oneself (used after a noun to emphasize the thing or person itself)

Definition

本身 is a formal pronoun that emphasizes 'the thing/person itself', placed after a noun. More formal and less reflexive than 自己, and more abstract than 自身.

pronoun
itselfoneself (used after a noun to emphasize the thing or person itself)

Examples

  • 本身。
    Zhè zhǒng yào běn shēn méi yǒu fù zuò yòng.
    This kind of medicine itself has no side effects.
  • 本身，。
    Zhè ge wèn tí běn shēn bìng bú fù zá, dàn shè jí hěn duō xì jié.
    This problem itself is not complicated, but involves many details.
  • 本身？
    Nǐ běn shēn shì zěn me xiǎng de?
    What do you yourself think?

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.

本běnthis
身shēnbody

本 (this) and 身 (body) point to the thing or person itself.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

本 adds a stroke at the bottom of a tree shape to mark the roots, giving the sense of foundation or original.

Open 本 →

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 6HSK 2.0 Level 65000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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