身体

• Pinyin: shēn tǐ
• Hanzi breakdown: 身 = pictograph of a person's body; 体 = 亻(person) + 本 (root), meaning the body or form of a person

Meaning

Body; health. Refers to the physical body or one's state of health.

Used in two main ways: to refer to the physical body itself, and more commonly to refer to one's health condition. The phrase 身体好 means 'in good health' and 身体不好 means 'in poor health.' A very common topic in Chinese greetings and well-wishes.

Examples

1. 你身体好吗？ How is your health?
2. 他的身体很好。 His health is very good.
3. 要多运动，身体才健康。 You need to exercise more to stay healthy.

Usage Guide

Context: health, greetings

Tone: caring

Do Say

• 注意身体。(Take care of your health.)
• 身体是最重要的。(Health is the most important thing.)

Don't Say

• 你的身体是好的。(Unnatural — say 你身体很好 or 你的身体很好, using 很 instead of 是...的)

Origin & History

A compound of 身 (body/person) and 体 (body/form), both characters reinforcing the concept of the physical body.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal