身长 (shēn cháng) — (of a person) height (used in formal or medical contexts); (of a garment) length from shoulder to hem; (of an animal) body length

Definition

Formal/literary word for physical measurements: a person's height, a garment's shoulder-to-hem length, or an animal's body length. Colloquial speech prefers 个子 (people) or 长度 / 长 (things).

noun
(of a person) height (used in formal or medical contexts)(of a garment) length from shoulder to hem(of an animal) body length
Easily confused

Examples

  • 身长。
    Yī shēng zài tǐ jiǎn shí jì lù le bìng rén de shēn cháng hé tǐ zhòng.
    The doctor recorded the patient's height and weight during the check-up.
  • 身长，。
    Zhè jiàn dà yī de shēn cháng zhèng hǎo dào xī gài, chuān zhuó hěn hé shì.
    The length of this coat reaches just to the knee and fits well.
  • 身长。
    Chéng nián dōng běi hǔ de shēn cháng tōng cháng zài liǎng mǐ yǐ shàng.
    The body length of an adult Siberian tiger is usually over two meters.

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
长chánglength

身 names the body and 长 names its length, together meaning body height or length.

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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 長; 长 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 長 pictures an old man with long hair. The simplified 长 is a later shorthand, so its strokes do not show that original picture.

Open 长 →

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