Meaning of 神
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- god; deity
- supernatural; magical; mysterious
- spirit; mind; energy
- lively; expressive
- look; expression
- (coll.) awesome; amazing
- God
How to use 神
神 means god or spirit, and it also appears in words about the mind and energy, like 精神 (jīngshén) and 神经 (shénjīng). In casual speech it can mean amazing. 他的球技太神了。(Tā de qiújì tài shén le.) His ball skills are amazing.
神 (shén) has 礻 on the left, the side form of 示 (shì), which marks characters about gods and rituals, and 申 (shēn) on the right, which gives the sound. Picture an altar 礻 next to a bolt reaching up and down 申, a message going to the gods.
Common mistake: Learners often write the left side as 衤 (clothing radical) with an extra stroke, but 神 uses 礻 with no extra dot. Also keep the second tone in shén, which is different from the first tone of 申 (shēn) and 身 (shēn, body).
神 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.
神 shén · god · 9 strokes
- 1
- 2
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- 5
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- 9
Related words
Words that share a character with 神.
| 精神 | jīngshén | spirit; mind |
| 神秘 | shénmì | mysterious; mystery |
| 神话 | shénhuà | legend; fairy tale |
| 神奇 | shénqí | magical; mystical |
| 神经 | shénjīng | nerve; mental state |
| 神情 | shénqíng | look; expression |
| 神圣 | shénshèng | divine; hallow |
| 眼神 | yǎnshén | expression or emotion showing in one's eyes; meaningful glance |
| 精神病 | jīngshénbìng | mental disorder; psychosis |
| 神仙 | shénxiān | Daoist immortal; supernatural entity |
| 留神 | liúshén | to take care; to be careful |
| 神气 | shénqì | expression; manner |
Questions about 神
What does 神 mean?
神 (shén) means "god; deity; supernatural; magical; mysterious" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 神?
神 is made of 1 character: 神 (9 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.
Is 神 an HSK word?
Yes. 神 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Does 精神 mean spirit or energetic?
Both. As a noun, 精神 (jīngshén) means spirit or mind. Said as jīngshen with a light second syllable, it often describes someone lively, as in 你今天很精神 (Nǐ jīntiān hěn jīngshen), you look lively today.
Is 神经 an insult in Chinese?
神经 (shénjīng) literally means nerve, but in casual speech 神经病 (shénjīngbìng) or just 神经 is used to call someone crazy. It can be rude, so use it carefully, mostly among friends as a joke.