隐身 (yǐn shēn) — to become invisible, to make oneself unseen (physically or figuratively); (Internet) to appear offline, to be in stealth mode (on messaging apps, games)

Definition

Verb meaning 'to become invisible / make oneself unseen' — literally 'hide one's body'. In everyday chat and gaming contexts it specifically means setting one's status to invisible or offLINE so others can't see you online.

verb
to become invisibleto make oneself unseen (physically or figuratively)(Internet) to appear offlineto be in stealth mode (on messaging apps, games)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 隐身。
    Chāo rén de néng lì bāo kuò yǐn shēn hé fēi xíng.
    Superman's abilities include invisibility and flying.
  • ，。
    Yóu xì lǐ tā yǐn le shēn, dí rén zhǎo bú dào tā.
    In the game he turned invisible, and the enemies couldn't find him.
  • 隐身。
    Wǒ gěi tā fā xiāo xi shí tā zhèng zài yǐn shēn.
    When I sent him a message, he was in invisible mode.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

隐yǐnhide
身shēnbody

隐 means hide and 身 means body, so the word describes hiding one's body or making oneself unseen.

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 隱; 隐 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阝Written in full as阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
㥯
㥯㥯隱yǐn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 隱 pairs 阝 (阜) with 㥯 to give the sound; the simplified 隐 is a shorthand, so its right side is not 㥯.

Open 隐 →

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 →

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