shēn

body

How it’s built

Pictograph of a person with an protruding midsection. The protruding midsection is variously explained as (1) representing the main part of a person's body, or (2) as representing a pregnant woman that has a body inside her body.

Through the ages

Bronze script

Seal script

Appears in

Characters that use 身 as a component, most common first.

躺tǎngto recline 躲duǒto evade 躯qūthe human body 窮qióngpoor 軀qūthe human body