Meaning of 一身
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- whole body
- from head to toe
- single person
- a suit of clothes
How to use 一身
一身 often appears before a noun to say something covers the whole body, or with the measure-word feel of "a full set" of clothes. Example: 他出了一身汗。(Tā chū le yì shēn hàn.) He was sweating all over.
一 (yī) means one and 身 (shēn) means body, so 一身 is "one whole body." Picture a single body covered from head to toe, whether in sweat, mud, or one full outfit.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 一身 with 身上 (shēnshang). 身上 means "on the body" as a location, while 一身 stresses the whole body or a complete outfit, as in 一身新衣服 (yì shēn xīn yīfu).
一身 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
一 yī · one · 1 strokes
- 1
身 shēn · body · 7 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
Related words
Words that share a character with 一身.
| 一起 | yīqǐ | (in) the same place; together; in company (with) |
| 一样 | yīyàng | same; like |
| 一些 | yīxiē | some; a few; a little; (following an adjective) slightly ...er |
| 身上 | shēnshang | on the body; at hand |
| 身体 | shēntǐ | the body; one's health |
| 一会儿 | yīhuìr | a moment; a while |
| 一半 | yībàn | half |
| 一边 | yībiān | one side; either side |
| 一点儿 | yīdiǎnr | erhua variant of 一點|一点[yi1 dian3] |
| 一块儿 | yīkuàir | erhua variant of 一塊|一块[yi1 kuai4] |
| 一下儿 | yīxiàr | erhua form of 一下[yi1 xia4] |
| 有一些 | yǒuyīxiē | somewhat; rather |
Questions about 一身
What does 一身 mean?
一身 (yīshēn) means "whole body; from head to toe" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 一身?
一身 is made of 2 characters: 一 (1 strokes), 身 (7 strokes). That is 8 strokes in total.
Is 一身 an HSK word?
Yes. 一身 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why is 一 pronounced yì in 一身?
一 changes tone before first, second, and third tone syllables, so before 身 (shēn) it becomes yì. The dictionary form yīshēn shows the base tone, but in speech you say yì shēn.
How do I use 一身 to mean a single person?
This sense appears in set phrases like 孑然一身 (jiérán yì shēn), meaning all alone in the world. It is more literary, so in everyday speech 一个人 (yí ge rén) is more common.