转身 (zhuǎn shēn) — to turn around (one's body); to face the opposi… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

转身 means to turn one's whole body around to face the other way. 掉头 is more for vehicles making a U-turn; 回头 is just turning the head.

verb

to turn around (one's body)to face the opposite direction

Examples

转身，。
Tā yì zhuǎn shēn, kàn dào le shēn hòu de péng you.
He turned around and saw his friend behind him.
转身。
Chū mén shí bié wàng le zhuǎn shēn guān mén.
Don't forget to turn around and close the door when you leave.
转身。
Tā zhuǎn shēn de shí hou bù xiǎo xīn pèng dào le zhuō zi.
When she turned around, she accidentally bumped into the table.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

转 means to turn and 身 is the body, together meaning to turn the body around.

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 轉; 转 is its simplified writing.

車專轉

Meaning part形符xíngfú

車車jūcarriage

Sound part声符shēngfú

專

專zhuān轉zhuǎn

Same sound today

The traditional form 轉 combines 車, a carriage, with 專 as a sound part; the simplified 转 is a later shorthand.

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.

Appears in

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