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终身 (zhōng shēn) — lifelong; all one's life; (in the phrase 终身大事) marriage (as a lifelong commitment)

Definition

终身 (zhōngshēn) means 'lifelong / for life' and typically modifies a commitment or state (终身学习, 终身大事). Slightly more formal than 一辈子 and closer to written/abstract contexts than 一生.

noun
lifelongall one's life(in the phrase 终身大事) marriage (as a lifelong commitment)

Examples

  • 终身。
    Hūn yīn shì rén shēng de zhōng shēn dà shì.
    Marriage is a major lifelong event in life.
  • 终身。
    Tā jué dìng zhōng shēn xué xí xīn de yǔ yán.
    She decided to learn a new language for life.
  • 终身。
    Nà cì lǚ xíng ràng tā zhōng shēn nán wàng.
    That trip made him never forget it for the rest of his life.

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.

终zhōngwhole or end
身shēnlife or body

终 conveys whole or end, and 身 conveys life or body, together giving all one's life.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 終; 终 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
冬
冬dōng終zhōng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 終 pairs 糸 (a cord) with 冬 as a sound part; the simplified 终 is a later shorthand. An older form showed a knot at the end of a cord.

Open 终 →

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 6Time (Abstract)

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