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藏身 (cáng shēn) — to hide oneself; to go into hiding; to take refuge; to seek shelter

Definition

A verb meaning 'to go into hiding / take refuge', usually about a person finding a place to stay concealed. Pairs with 躲 (transient dodging) and 避难 (fleeing danger) — 藏身 focuses on staying hidden in a spot.

verb
to hide oneselfto go into hidingto take refugeto seek shelter

Examples

  • 藏身。
    Tā zài shān dòng lǐ cáng shēn.
    He is hiding in the cave.
  • 藏身。
    Tā zhèng zài xún zhǎo cáng shēn de dì fāng.
    She is looking for a place to hide.
  • 藏身。
    Shì bīng men zài zhàn zhēng qī jiān cáng shēn yú cūn zhuāng zhōng.
    The soldiers took refuge in the village during the war.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

藏cánghide
身shēnbody/self

"藏" hide and "身" body/self combine to mean hide one's body.

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
艸艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
臧
臧zāng藏cáng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

藏 is made from 艸 (grass) and 臧, where 臧 gives the sound.

Open 藏 →

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 7-9Safety & Danger

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