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身影 (shēn yǐng) — silhouette, figure (of a person)

Definition

身影 is a person's figure or silhouette as you see them, often at a distance or in motion. Compare 影子 (a cast shadow or faint trace) and 背影 (a figure viewed from behind).

noun
silhouettefigure (of a person)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 身影。
    Tā de shēn yǐng zài lù dēng xià xiǎn de hěn gāo dà.
    His silhouette looked very tall under the streetlight.
  • 身影。
    Wǒ kàn jiàn yí gè shú xi de shēn yǐng cóng yuǎn chù zǒu lái.
    I saw a familiar figure coming from afar.
  • ，身影。
    Huáng hūn shí fēn, tā de shēn yǐng jìng jìng de zhàn zài hǎi biān.
    At dusk, her figure stood quietly by the sea.

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.

身shēnbody
影yǐngshadow

身, the body, and 影, a shadow, combine to mean a person's visible figure or silhouette.

Characters in this word

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 →

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
彡彡shān
Sound part声符shēngfú
景
景jǐng影yǐng
Same sound today

影 pairs 景, which gives the sound and also carries the idea of image, with 彡, the part that points to shadow.

Open 影 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9People (General)

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